BREAKING: NJC recommends new CJN

• The recommendation was made in an impromptu closed-door meeting initially slated for Friday but brought forward to Thursday in Abuja

The National Judicial Council has chosen a new candidate for Chief Justice of Nigeria.

The candidate is Justice Kudirat Motonmori Kekere-Ekun.

The Council made this decision at its 106th meeting.

The meeting took place on August 14 and 15.

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 as the CJN on September 21, 2022 by former President Muhammadu Buhari. He is billed to bow out on August 22, when he will attain the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Already, the Supreme Court currently has the full complement of 21 Justices. In the long tradition of the apex court, the next most senior Justice will likely step in.

By their hierarchies, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun is the most senior Justice on the apex court bench and is the likeliest successor.

The NJC also “recommend twenty-seven (27) candidates for appointment as Judges of States Courts and a candidate for appointment as Kadi of the Sharia Court of the FCT, Abuja to their various State Governors and Mr. President.”