Be inspired! Learn everything about the female Chief Justice of Nigeria, from her name to her biography. Find out how the former Chief Judge of Nigeria earned her position and some interesting facts about her life.
Who is the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria and year she was appointed?
The name of the woman who made history by becoming the first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria is Aloma Mariam Mukhtar. She is currently 73 years old, born on November the 20th, 1944. She was holding the Chief Justice position since July 2012 and resigned in November 2014. She became an English barrister in 1966 and Nigerian barrister in 1967.
Aloma Mariam Mukhtar biography
The former Chief Justice comes from Adamawa State. She received her primary and secondary education in Zaria, Kaduna State. Later, she moved on with her studies in England, where she completed education at Technical College in Berkshire and Gibson & Weldon College of Law in London. In England, she had to deal with many hardships, as she was the first Nigerian to become a resident of East Brent, and many English people did not know anything about Africa, always showering her with questions about the life on the continent. She admitted that it became easier when another Nigerian girl joined her.
Aloma wanted to become a nurse, radiographer, or librarian at first. However, when she chose law as her profession, she could not imagine herself doing anything else. She revealed that many people called her stubborn, but she was sure that being qualified in law would be beneficial for a woman.
In 1967, her legal career began, and during this time she went through a lot of different ranks. She started as a pupil counsel in northern Nigeria’s Ministry of Justice and served there for two years, before becoming appointed as the first female Magistrate Grade I in the northern region of Nigeria. Since then, she kept making history. She worked in the court of Kano State and currently is the most senior Chief Justice of Supreme Court.
Since 1993, Aloma Mariam Mukhtar has been a member of female lawyer federation, and she also was the vice-President of Nigeria’s Women Judges Association. She received a lot of awards for her hard work. For example, she was honoured with the Gold Merit Award by Kano State government. Her hard work was also acknowledged by the Federation of female lawyers, the International Association of female lawyers, and Nigerian Law School.
This woman truly made a revolution in law: she is a lot of “firsts” in her field. Apart from becoming the first female lawyer of northern Nigeria, she is also the first female judge of Kano State’s high court, the first female Court of Appeal justice, the first female Supreme Court of Nigeria justice, and of course, the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria.
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How was Aloma Mukhtar appointed for Chief Justice position?
The appointment of Aloma Mariam Mukhtar as Chief Justice of Nigeria happened in July 2012, and this was a historic moment for the country, because before all the Chief Justices were male. She was approved for this position by the former Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan. At the moment, she was 68 years old, and she replaced the retiring Judge, Dahiru Musdapher. Since then, she became a huge inspiration for all the women who work in court. Her colleagues gave their opinions about her, describing her as an independent and open-minded woman.
Of course, there were a lot of discussions about her capability for this responsible position and ability to solve the judicial issues. Nevertheless, most of the people who worked in court, especially those who knew her, agreed that she was the most experienced out of all the candidates, and therefore her position as Chief Justice was well-deserved and earned. She was also described as the type of person who would never be involved in scandals and drama, and someone who is ready to take the hardest challenges. Fellow judges said that they were looking forward to working under her brilliant leadership.
When Aloma Mariam Mukhtar spoke about her plans, she said that she wanted to change the judiciary for the better and clean out all the bad eggs. She also promised to give hope to all Nigerians who thought they will never get justice.
Aloma Mariam Mukhtar has a beautiful family, she is married and has four children. The sad moment of her biography is that her parents, Hadiza and Muktari, died only one day apart, and she was devastated because her parents were a true inspiration for her and supported all of her endeavours.
Aloma Mariam Mukhtar broke a lot of records and earned her unofficial title of “woman of many firsts.”
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Source: Naija.ng