Nigeria May Get First Female Chief Judge Of The Federatio, (C.J.N)

Indications has emerged that Nigeria may get its first female Chief Justice when the current occupant of the office, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, quits office on July 14, 2012.

It was learnt that the outgoing CJN may have recommended Mariam Alooma Mukhtar, a female, who is the most senior Justice of the Superme Court to succeed him.

If eventually appointed, Mukhtar who hails from Kano State will be major boost for interests campaigning for women to occupy sensitive positions.

She recently rejected her nomination as the Chief Judge of The Gambia, perhaps in anticipation of her being made Nigeria’s first female CJN.

Mukhtar is the first female Justice of the Supreme Court. She was born in 1944 and was called to the Nigerian Bar on June 26, 1967.

Her profile on the website of the Supreme Court also reads, “She was called to the English Bar in 1966 and later called to the Nigerian Bar in June 1967.

A thorough Legal Professional, Hon. Justice A.M Muktar had served as: Pupil State Counsel, Ministry of Justice, Northern Nigeria (1967) Draftsman, Office of the Legal Draftsman, Interim Common Service Agency Magistrate Grade I, North Eastern Government (1969 – 1973); Chief Registrar, Kano State Government Judiciary (1973 – 1977) Judge – High Court of Kano State (1977) Justice – Court of Appeal (1987) Presiding Justice – Court of Appeal (1993 – 2005).

A Life Member of the International Association of Women Lawyers, Hon. Justice Aloma Mariam Muktar has been a Justice of the Supreme Court (JSC) since 2005.”