Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun Confirmed as CJN in 2024

Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun was appointed as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria on August 23, 2024, and was confirmed in a substantive capacity on September 30, 2024. She succeeded Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who retired on August 22, 2024, after serving from 2022.

Kekere-Ekun is only the second woman to lead the Nigerian judiciary, following Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, who served from 2012 to 2014. Since Nigeria's independence in 1960, there have been 18 Chief Justices, with only two women among them.

The longest-serving Chief Justice was Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, who held the position for 12 years from 1960 to 1972, while Muhammad Lawal Uwais served for 11 years from 1995 to 2006. The gender breakdown of the Chief Justices shows that 16 were men and 2 were women.