In the next few days, the next Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) will emerge as Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun succeeds the incumbent Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
As the most senior justice of the Supreme Court after Ariwoola, Justice Kekere-Ekun is favoured to clinch the position. Ariwoola, the current CJN and will formally bow out on August 22, when he would be 70 years.
If she assumes the office, Kekere-Ekun like Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, who was CJN between July 2012 and November 2014, would become the second female justice in Nigeria.
The incoming CJN, who is 66-year-old, may stay up to four years compared to the average of two years most of her predecessors held the position.
After 11 years at the Supreme Court, Justice Kekere-Ekun will not only become the next CJN but also head the National Judicial Council (NJC), which oversees the appointment, promotion, and discipline of judges across the country.
Successive CJN is the head of the government’s judicial arm, who presides over the country’s Supreme Court and the NJC.
The office is held at the pleasure of the Nigerian Constitution and can only be removed from office due to death or on attainment of age 70, whichever comes first, or by impeachment by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which requires a supermajority of the Senate members.
It is also worthy of notice to know that the Supreme Court of Nigeria is the highest, and its decisions are final.
The president nominates the CJN upon the recommendation by the NJC, and is subject to confirmation by the Senate.
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