On Friday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu swore in Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the new Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

Kekere-Ekun’s swearing-in ceremony took place at the State House in Abuja.

She succeeded Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who vacated the role on Thursday after attaining the retirement age of 70 years.

Ariwoola was first appointed substantive CJN on June 27, 2022, by Muhammadu Buhari, then Nigerian president, before he was formally confirmed for the same role on September 21, 2022.

READ ALSO: JUST IN: Tinubu Swears In Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as 23rd CJN

Ariwoola’s over two years in office were, however, filled with quite a handful of controversies. Here are some:

‘BORN IN 1958, STARTED SCHOOL IN 1959’

After Ariwoola was sworn in as acting CJN in June 2022, questions were raised over his credentials, particularly on the period he began schooling.

It was initially stated on the website of the Supreme Court that he was born in Iseyin, Oyo State, on August 22, 1958, and that he began his primary education as a one-year-old in 1959.

When Nigerians started asking questions on this, his year of birth was changed to 1954. Festus Akande, the spokesperson of the Supreme Court, would also later claim to the press that Ariwoola was born in 1954, and not in 1958.

WHEELCHAIR ALLEGATION AND SECRET PHONE CONVERSATION

After the February 2023 election which saw Bola Ahmed Tinubu become Nigeria’s president, a whole lot of accusations came up against Ariwoola and the judiciary.

One such accusation was that Ariwoola had secretly sneaked out of Nigeria to hold a meeting with Tinubu in the United Kingdom.

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The purpose of the meeting, it was claimed, was to get Ariwoola to dismiss all the accusations of electoral corruption made against Tinubu at the tribunal that was later held. The accusation was made at a time when Ariwoola was pictured leaving the country in a wheelchair.

Tinubu’s team would, however, claim that the president-elect was in France and not in the UK as claimed.

The CJN’s office would also later issue a statement that Ariwoola had travelled to the UK for medical care.

In July of the same year, it was also rumoured that Tinubu and Ariwoola had a secret phone conversation in which the former had put pressure on the latter to have all the cases brought before the election tribunal dismissed. The claim was, however, again dismissed by the Supreme Court.

JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS

As CJN, Ariwoola appointed Adebayo Lateef Ariwoola, who happens to be his brother, as the head of the audit department at the National Judicial Council (NJC) in December 2023. As an occupant of the role, Adebayo directly answered to his brother who was also the Chairman of the NJC.

Prior to this, the NJC Ariwoola chaired had also made Kayode Ariwoola Jnr., Ariwoola’s son, a Federal High Court of Nigeria judge in July 2023.

READ ALSO: CJN’s Brother Is Auditor of National Judicial Council. He’s Been Auditing Federal MDAs Since 2012

On July 10, 2024, Ariwoola also swore in Ariwoola Oluwakemi Victoria, his daughter-in-law, as a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) judge.

Lateef Ganiyu, Ariwoola’s nephew, also got promoted to the appeal court as a judge while the CJN was still in office.

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), in a publication on Friday, described Ariwoola’s tenure as one filled with nepotism and corruption.

“One of the most troubling aspects of his time in office was the introduction of nepotistic practices in the appointment of judges,” HURIWA said in a statement Emmanuel Onwubiko, its National Coordinator, signed.