PROFILE: Kekere-Ekun, Nigeria’s second female CJN whose father was lawyer, senator

Two years before Nigeria’s independence, in the heart of London, the United Kingdom, Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, a name that would resonate through the corridors of Nigeria’s justice system, was born.

But her roots are in Lagos, where both her parents are indigenes. Born on May 7, 1958. she is the eldest of eleven siblings in a polygamous home.  Her father, Hassan Adisa Babatunde Fasinro, was also a lawyer and politician, while her mother, Winifred Layiwola Ogundimu (née Savage), is a UK-trained nurse.

Fasinro, popularly called HAB, was a senator representing Lagos in the second republic and the first clerk of the Lagos City Council. Having a father who is a lawyer may have influenced Kekere-Ekun’s passion for the legal profession.

She commenced her secondary education in 1970 at Queens College, Lagos, and studied law at the University of Lagos from 1977 to 1980. She then proceeded to the Nigerian Law School and was called to the bar in July 1981. After that, she underwent the compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) from 1981–82 at the ministry of justice in Benin City, Edo (then Bendel state).

Upon completing her service year, she proceeded to the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), obtaining a master’s degree in law in 1983.

NIGERIA’S SECOND FEMALE CJN

Kekere-Ekun passed through the system, building capacity through every phase of her career to what would become its zenith in the Nigerian judicial space.  She started her ascent on the ladder of the judicial hierarchy as a senior magistrate Grade II, Lagos, in December 1989 and rose to become a high court judge in July 1996.

As a high court judge, she served as chairperson of the Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Zone II, Ikeja, from November 1996 to May 1999.

She was then promoted to the court of appeals in September 2004 and served as a member of its ICT committee between 2011 and 2013. 

In 2013, Kekere-Ekun, fondly called Young Toks, was appointed a Supreme Court justice. She is the fifth and youngest female to be appointed as a justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. She was made for this — to bring honour to her family, to women, to black women, and to her nation through hard work and servitude — a force to reckon with, a model worthy of emulating. 

Kekere-Ekun is the second female to emerge as CJN in Nigeria after Aloma Mukhtar, who held the position between July 2012 and November 2014. Interestingly, it was Mukhtar who swore in Kekere-Ekun as a supreme court justice in 2013.

Kekere-Ekun was awarded a national honour as commander of the federal republic (CFR) in 2022.

Some describe her as incorruptible, apolitical, and a disciplinarian; others say Kekere-Ekun’s character is as revered as her strength. In an interview, Adegboyega Awomolo, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and chairman of the body of benchers, painted a portrait of a woman of impeccable integrity, a jurist unyielding in her pursuit of justice. 

Awomolo said Kekere-Ekun is a disciplinarian and would make an exemplary chief justice. 

“Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun is a disciplinarian. She is disciplined in every respect.  She is not frivolous in any way. She is apolitical. In other words, she is not a politician. She is free of political encumbrance or baggage. Because she is free of that political garbage, she is going to be very professional. I can assure you. She will be very professional,” Awomolo said. 

“She will be a disciplined Chief Justice of Nigeria and she will uphold the integrity and honour of the court and the judiciary as a whole. Nobody should take her for granted at all. Nobody should assume that he can control her. No, you cannot. I’m not particularly close to her but from my little experience, or knowledge of the way I see her, she is not frivolous at all, she is not open to corruption. She is not open to influence. She is not open to any bad behaviour. 

“So, I am expecting a Chief Justice of Nigeria that will do us proud, that will maintain the integrity of the bench, and that will work together with her colleagues in the Supreme Court. She is not politically inclined. I’m hoping that she would be an exemplary chief justice. Exemplary in character. Exemplary in professionalism. What else do we expect? Let’s wait for her time and applause when she leaves.”

KEKERE-EKUN’S ROLE IN UZODINMA VS IHEDIOHA SAGA

The shadow of what most key observers have described as the most controversial judgement in Nigeria’s post-independence history, however, trails Kekere-Ekun’s profile. 

The Imo state governorship election case, a watershed moment in Nigerian politics, saw her deliver a verdict that would put the legal system to the test and set precedence for future rulings.

Kekere-Ekun read the supreme court judgement in the January 2020 verdict that sacked Emeka Ihedioha and proclaimed Hope Uzodinma as lawful Imo state governor, based on claims that results from 388 polling units where Uzodinma led were not included in the original results.

Uzodinma, who came a distant fourth position in the result announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was declared winner of the poll in a unanimous decision by a seven-person panel which Kekere-Ekun was a part of.

As CJN, she will oversee the selection of judges who will hear and rule on any legal challenges arising from the 2027 general election.

She was also among the judges who sat on the hijab (head cover) controversy between the Lagos state government & others v. Asiyat Abdulkareem. The apex court overruled Lagos on its restriction of the use of hijab by female Muslim students of public schools in the state.

‘NIGERIANS SHOULD EMBRACE CHANGE’

Speaking in July 2016 during a public lecture with stakeholders in the legal profession, Kekere-Ekun said some Nigerians clamour for change but want “business as usual”.

She urged Nigerians to be ready to embrace and accept change when they see it, even if it does not appeal to their interests.

She also stressed the need for members of the judiciary to uphold the ethics of the profession and earn the trust of the people.

“As laudable as the objectives of this lecture are, nothing meaningful would be achieved unless we were sincerely ready to embrace change. I say this because this is the platform on which the present government was selected. We all say we want change but when signs of change are coming, we don’t seem to be comfortable with it. Many of us still want business as usual,” Kekere-Ekun said.

“Once the public loses confidence in the judiciary, the society will descend into chaos and anarchy. When there is a lack of confidence in the judiciary, it affects the nation’s ability to attract foreign direct investment which the country sorely needs at this time.

“It has an adverse effect on every aspect of our existence. As individual stakeholders, we must do our bit to improve access to justice in Nigeria. As judges, we must exercise our judicial powers in a fair, honest, transparent, efficient and effective manner without fear or favour.”

Kekere-Ekun is a life bencher and member of the International Association of Women Judges.

Beyond the courtroom, the jurist takes pleasure in reading, information technology and counselling.

All things being equal, Kekere-Ekun will be Nigeria’s CNJ for the next four years until May May 7, 2028, when she is due for retirement.

She is married to Akin Kekere-Ekun and blessed with three children.