The rise and rise of Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun

Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, on Friday, took the oath of office as the new Acting Chief Justice of the Federation.

She becomes the 23rd Chief Justice of Nigeria and the second woman to hold the highest judicial office in the country.

Here, WESTERN POST chronicles her rise from a Senior Magistrate to the pinnacle of the legal profession, the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

Born in the UK on 7th May 1958 to Alhaji Senator H.A.B. Fasinro, a lawyer, politician and Muslim of royal lineage in Lagos, her mother is Mrs. Winifred Layiwola Ogundimu (née Savage), a nurse and Christian.

Young Kudirat attended Queen’s College, Lagos. She studied Law at the University of Lagos, obtaining her LL.B in 1980. She proceeded to the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1981. She completed the National Youth Service at the Ministry of Justice, Benin City, Bendel State (now Edo State) in 1982 and proceeded to the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) where she obtained a master’s degree in law.

She worked in private law practice for a few years and later joined the Bench. Kudirat was appointed by the Lagos State Judiciary as a Senior Magistrate Grade II in December 1989 and subsequently appointed a Judge of the High Court of Lagos State on 19th July 1996. In September 2004, she was elevated to the Court of Appeal, where she served in five different Divisions nationwide. She was the pioneer Presiding Justice of the Makurdi Division of the Court of Appeal, and also served as the Presiding Justice of the Akure Division of the Court of Appeal before her elevation to the Supreme Court on 8th July 2013.

Kudirat Kekere-Ekun served as Chairman of the Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Zone II, Ikeja, Lagos, from November 1996 to May 1999. She was one of three Judges of the Lagos State High Court first selected to try offences relating to financial crimes and money laundering under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Establishment Act, 2004 and the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

Justice Kekere-Ekun was a member of the Ethics Curriculum Planning Committee of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) in 2003, in collaboration with the Department for International Development (DFID) and UNODC. The Committee produced the Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees. She also chaired the Public Complaints and Training Committee, a part of the UNODC pilot project on strengthening judicial integrity and capacity in Lagos State, from February 2003 till July 2004. The Public Complaints Committee investigated complaints against magistrates in the performance of their official duties and became pivotal for the reform of the justice delivery system in the magistrate courts.

In addition, she served as a supervisory judge in charge of the Apapa Magisterial District in Lagos State from October 2002 to July 2004 and was a member of the committee that drafted the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2004 from April 2002 to December 2002. The new Civil Procedure Rules introduced innovations in case management such as the front-loading concept, pre-trial conference, and the application of ADR mechanisms for the speedy dispensation of justice. The innovations have also been adopted by most states of the Federation and have proved particularly helpful in the speedy dispensation of electoral disputes.

From December 2001 to December 2004, she served as a member of the Steering Committee of the Lagos State Multi-Door Court House, the first court-connected Alternative Dispute Resolution center in Africa.

At the Court of Appeal, she served on the Information Technology Committee, which was to facilitate the computerization of the Court.

Justice Kekere-Ekun received the Merit Awards of the Lagos State Judiciary, in December 2003 and September 2013. She was awarded the Distinguished Trailblazers Awards by the Nigerian Bar Association Women Forum (August 2012 and 2014).

She is a member of the National Association of Women Judges; International Association of Women Judges; Body of Benchers – Life Bencher W.E.F. 8th February 2018; Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (Fellow); and International Dispute Resolution Institute (Fellow). She is also a member of the Ikoyi Club 1938.

Hon. Justice K.M.O. Kekere-Ekun is married to Mr. Akin Kekere-Ekun. Their union is blessed with children.