Nigeria’s National Judicial Council (NJC) has recommended Justice Kudirat Motonmori Kekere-Ekun to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointment as the next Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
Disclosing this in a statement on Thursday, NJC spokesman Soji Oye said the decision was taken following the Council’s 106th Meeting presided over by the CJN Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
“This is imperative as Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, GCON, will formally bow out of office as the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria next week Thursday, 22 August 2024,” the statement read.
Justice Olukayode Ariwoola was appointed the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) by former President Muhammadu Buhari on September 21, 2022. He will retire on August 22 at the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Currently, the Supreme Court has 21 Justices, but following the longstanding tradition of the apex court, the next most senior Justice is expected to assume the role.
The NJC has also recommended twenty-seven (27) candidates for appointment as Judges of state courts and a candidate for appointment as Kadi of the Sharia Court of the FCT, Abuja, to their respective State Governors and the President.