The National Judicial Council (NJC) will meet on Friday, August 16, to select a successor for the outgoing Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
Ariwoola will retire on August 22 upon reaching the mandatory age of 70.
An anonymous Supreme Court source confirmed that the NJC’s decision on the new CJN will be forwarded to President Bola Tinubu. “The NJC has fixed Friday to meet and decide on the name to be sent to the President. No name has been sent yet as the NJC has not met,” the source said.
Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the most senior Supreme Court Justice, is the likely successor according to traditional court hierarchy. If appointed, Kekere-Ekun will be Nigeria’s second female CJN, following Justice Aloma Mukhtar, who served from July 2012 to November 2014.
Justice Ariwoola’s retirement will lead to the emergence of a new CJN under Section 231 (4) of the 1999 Constitution. “This one is very certain,” the source noted about Kekere-Ekun’s likely appointment.
Justice Kekere-Ekun, who has been a Justice since July 8, 2023, has a distinguished career including roles in private practice, the High Court of Lagos State, the Court of Appeal, and now the Supreme Court.
