By A change of leadership rocked the Nigerian judiciary on Monday after Justice Olukayode Ariwoola was sworn in as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
Ariwoola’s emergence followed the resignation of Justice Tanko Muhammad who bowed out of office citing health issues, barely a week after fourteen justices of the Supreme Court levelled corruption allegations — among other issues — against him. Tanko, however, denied the claims.
With a new man in the charge of the nation’s judicial space, here are ten things you should know about the acting CJN.
1. Ariwoola was born on August 22, 1958 in Iseyin, Oyo State.
2. He attended Local Authority Demonstration School, Oluwole for his primary education between 1959 and 1967. He then proceeded to Muslim Modern School from 1968 to 1969 and later Ansar-Ud-Deen High School in Saki where he completed his secondary education.
3. In 1980, Ariwoola bagged his law degree from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). He was called to the Nigerian bar a year later.
4. He began his professional career as a legal officer in the Oyo State Ministry of Justice before he opted for private practice in 1988.
5. He was a counsel in-chambers of Ladosu Ladapo between 1988 and July 1989. He would go on establish his own legal firm named “Olukayode Ariwoola & Co”.
6. In 1992, he was appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Record in Oyo.
7. He served as Chairman of the Oyo State Armed Robbery Tribunal between May 1993 and September 1996.
8. In 2005, Ariwoola rose to the position of a Justice of the Court of Appeal after serving in the Oyo State High Court.
9. Six years later, in 2011, he was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
10. He is currently the highest ranking officer of the apex court.
