Olukayode Ariwoola was sworn in as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria by President Muhammadu Buhari on 27 June 2022. Ariwoola became the acting head of the Supreme Court, the country’s apex court, following the resignation of Justice Tanko Muhammad from the position, on the grounds of ill-health.
The appointment of Ariwoola to act as Chief Justice of Nigeria is by virtue of Section 231(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which stipulates that in the case of any vacancy in the office of the CJN, the President is expected to appoint the most senior justice of the apex court to perform the functions of the office.
Ariwoola becomes the 22nd person to occupy the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria since the country’s amalgamation in 1914 and the 17th Nigerian appointed as the country’s most senior jurist. So, who is the acting CJN, who is expected to be confirmed as the substantial head of the Nigerian judiciary?
Biography
Olukayode Tajudeen Ariwoola was born on 22 August 1954 in Iseyin, situated in present-day Oyo State. He began his educational pursuit by attending Local Authority Demonstration School, Oluwole, Iseyin, from 1959 to 1967. He started his secondary school education at Muslim Modern School, Iseyin, from 1968 to 1969, and then enrolled at Ansar-Ud-Deen High School, Saki, which is also in Oyo State, where he completed his post-elementary education.
He gained admission into the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife, Osun State, where he bagged a Bachelor’s degree in Law (LLB) in July 1980.
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Legal career
Ariwoola attended the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, for the mandatory one-year programme for law graduates in Nigerian universities and was called to the Nigerian bar in 1981. He subsequently got enrolled as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court.
The acting CJN began his legal career as a State Counsel at the Ministry of Justice, Akure, Ondo State, during his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) year. He also worked as Legal Officer in the Ministry of Justice, Oyo State, until 1988, when he delved into private practice.
He began his private legal practice at the chambers of Chief Ladosu Ladapo, SAN, where he worked as Counsel in Chambers from October 1988 to July 1989. He then set up shop as he established Olukayode Ariwoola & Co – a firm of legal practitioners and consultants – in Oyo town in August 1989.
After about four years in private practice, Ariwoola was elevated to the bench as he was appointed a Judge of Oyo State Judiciary on 2 November 1992. He served as Chairman of the Armed Robbery Tribunal, Oyo State, from May 1993 to September 1996. He was redeployed from Ibadan, the headquarters of the state judiciary, to the Saki High Court.
Upon the country’s return to democracy in 1999, Ariwoola served on the Election Tribunals in Zamfara and Enugu states. He also sat at Election Appeal Courts in Port-Harcourt (Rivers State), Enugu, Benin (Edo State), Yola (Adamawa State), and Ilorin (Kwara State) at various times.
He was sworn in as a Justice of the Court of Appeal on 22 November 2005. While at the Court of Appeal, he served as a Justice in the Kaduna, Enugu, and Lagos divisions. He was subsequently elevated to the Supreme Court on 22 November 2011, six years after his appointment at the Court of Appeal.
Ariwoola was sworn in as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria by President Buhari on 27 June 2022. He became the most senior jurist on the Supreme Court bench after Justice Muhammad’s retirement, hence his appointment. He is expected to be confirmed as the substantive CJN and be in office until 2024 when he attains the retirement age of 70 years.
Prominent rulings as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria
Since his elevation to the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Ariwoola has sat on various panels to decide judicial cases of national and sub-national importance. His most recent case of utmost importance to the country’s political system is his membership of a panel that delivered a ruling that affirmed Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the Governor of Imo State on 14 January 2020.
He also sat on panels of the apex court that sacked Emeka Ihedioha and David Lyon as Governor of Imo State and Governor-elect of Bayelsa State, respectively.
The justice headed the five-member panel of the apex that dismissed the appeal filed by Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers State (2007-2015) and former minister of transportation, against the decision of the Rivers State Government headed by Governor Nyesom Wike to set up a panel to probe his administration. In the judgment delivered on 27 May 2022, in the appeal marked: SC/911/2017, the apex court held that the appeal was without merit and awarded a N1 million cost against Amaechi.
The jurist, who is a Muslim, also headed the seven-member panel of the Supreme Court on 17 June 2022 that reversed the decision by the Lagos State Government to regulate the use of head covering (popularly referred to as hijab) by female Muslim students in public schools in the state.
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Professional membership
Ariwoola is a member of the following bodies:
- Nigerian Bar Association
- International Bar Association
- Nigerian Body of Benchers
- Fellow, International Dispute Resolution Institute (FIDRI)
The acting CJN has attended many national and international conferences and workshops in France, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.
Controversy
Ariwoola was investigated just before his elevation to the Supreme Court following a flurry of petitions levelled against him. He was one of the justices on the Court of Appeal panel that sacked Segun Oni as Governor of Ekiti State in 2010.
Following the judicial intervention in Ekiti politics, the justices who delivered judgment in the case (Justices Isa Ayo Salami, President of the Court of Appeal; Ariwoola, Clara Ogunbiyi, Chima Nweze, and Adamu Jauro) were accused of being compromised. Consequently, Justice Salami was ousted out of office by the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.
However, Ariwoola was exonerated following a lack of evidence against him. Shortly after the conclusion of the investigation, the jurist was elevated to the Supreme Court.
Family
According to his profile on the Supreme Court website, Ariwoola is happily married with children. He is also said to love reading, listening to good music, photography, and shopping.
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