Nigeria will get its first female Chief Justice of Nigeria
(CJN) on 16 July when Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar is
sworn in by President Goodluck Jonathan. This follows the
retirement of the current CJN, Justice Dahiru Musdapher who
reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 and Jonathan's nomination of Mukhtar's appointment which has been sent for Senate confirmation. The
latter gave Justice Mukhtar the all clear on Wednesday 11 July
following a brief screening session. Mukhtar comes from Kano State, was
Northern Nigeria's first female legal practitioner and, in an
illustrious career in the bar and bench, earned a formidable reputation
as a fearless, impartial and independent arbiter.
She will perhaps be mainly remembered for being only one of
three Justices who gave a dissenting judgment in the 2007 presidential
election petition case involving President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
and Gen Muhammadu Buhari. In her judgment she ruled
that the election, which purportedly declared President Yar'Adua as the
winner, was significantly flawed and should be cancelled. She
is expected to serve as CJN until July 2014 when she will also reach the mandatory retirement age.
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© 2012 Menas Associates
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