By Kehinde Olusegun
Following the retirement of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun was on Friday sworn in as the new Chief Justice of Nigeria by President Bola Tinubu.
Justice Kekere-Ekun, who is the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court, became the 23rd CJN of the Apex Court at the age of 66.
She was born in London, United Kingdom, on 7 May 1958 to Alhaji Senator H.A.B. Fasinro, OFR, and Mrs Winifred Layiwola Ogundimu.
She attended Queen’s College, Lagos, for her secondary education, after which she obtained her LL.B in 1980 from the University of Lagos and her LL.M from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in November 1983.
She was called to the Nigerian Bar on 10 July 1981 after completing her compulsory one-year National Youth Service at the Ministry of Justice, Benin City, Edo State (previously Bendel State).
Justice Kekere-Ekun began her career in private practice from 1985 to 1989 before being appointed as a Senior Magistrate Grade II in the Lagos State Judiciary in December 1989.
She was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Lagos State on 19 July 1996. From November 1996 to May 1999, she served as the Chairman of the Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Zone II, Ikeja, Lagos.
In 2003, she served as a member of the National Centre for State Courts (NCSC) Ethics Curriculum Planning Committee, which collaborated with the Department for International Development (DFID) and the UNODC to develop the Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees.
She was elevated to the Court of Appeal on 22 September 2004, where she served in various divisions and presided over two divisions of the court. Justice Kekere-Ekun was elevated to the Supreme Court Bench as the fifth female justice on Monday, 8 July 2013.
Justice Kekere-Ekun is also a recipient of numerous awards and a member of several professional associations, including the National Association of Women Judges and the International Association of Women Judges. She is a Life Bencher and Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and the International Dispute Resolution Institute. She is also a member of the Ikoyi Club 1938.
She has been married to Mr Akin Kekere-Ekun, OFR, a former Managing Director of the now-defunct Habib Bank Nigeria Plc, since December 1983. Their union is blessed with three children.
Following her emergence as the new CJN, she became the second female to hold the position of CJN after Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, who served as CJN between July 2012 and November 2014.
