Aloma Mukhtar: Nigeria’s New Chief justice (the First Female to Occupy the Exalted Position in Africa)

Nigeria's first female chief justice in history emerged on Wednesday (11 July) when the west African nation's senate confirmed the nomination of Aloma Mukhtar as the new Chief Justice to replace the outgoing Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Dahiru Musdapher. Mukhtar's nomination on July 4 by the Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, made her the 13th Chief Justice of the country and the first female to occupy the exalted position.

Outgoing CJN, Dahiru Musdapher, is expected to take a bow out of the office on JULY 15 (TODAY), at the mandatory age of 70 years. Born in northwest Nigeria's Kano State on Nov. 20, 1944, Mukhtar attended schools in Nigeria and also in England before becoming a lawyer. She was also the first female lawyer from the northern part of Nigeria to be called to the Nigerian Bar. On Sept. 24, 1987, she became the first female to be appointed judge in the Nigerian appellate court. This was followed by her appointment on June 8, 2005 as the first Nigerian woman to ascend to the position of judge in the country's Supreme Court.

Source: ABUJA (Xinhua)