One of the biggest news reports outside of Nigeria in the last couple of days definitely would be the emergence of Justice Olukayode Ariwoola as Chief Justice of Nigeria.
Though, on an interim basis, Justice Ariwoola has been saddled with the responsibility of overseeing the Nigerian judiciary until the presidency this otherwise.
Ariwoola was sworn in as acting Chief Justice of Nigeria on Monday, June 27, 2022, by President Muhammadu Buhari, following the resignation of Justice Tanko Muhammad.
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Justice Tanko had cited ill health as the cause of his resignation in a letter dated June 26, 2022, and made public on Monday.
Below are 15 things to know about Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria:
1 – Justice Ariwoola was born on August 22, 1958.
2 – He hails from Iseyin, Oyo State.
3 – He started his education in Iseyin at the Local Authority Demonstration School, Oluwole, Iseyin Local Government Area of Oyo State, where he finished his primary education in 1967.
4 – He attended the Muslim Modern School in the same town between 1968 and 1969 before proceeding to Ansar-Ud-Deen High School, Saki, in Oyo-North of Oyo State.
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5 – Ariwoola studied Law at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile Ife, and bagged his Bachelor of Law degree with Honours in July 1980.
6 – Justice Ariwoola was called to the bar in July 1981, and got enrolled at the Supreme Court of Nigeria as a Solicitor and Advocate soon thereafter.
7 – He was a State Counsel for the National Youth Service Corps at the Ministry of Justice, Akure, Ondo State, and later a Legal Officer in the Ministry of Justice of Oyo State until 1988 when he voluntarily left the official bar of the State Civil Service for private practice.
8 – He worked as Counsel-in-Chambers of Chief Ladosu Ladapo, SAN, between October 1988 and July 1989 when he established Olukayode Ariwoola & Co – a firm of Legal Practitioners and Consultants in Oyo town in August 1989.
9 – He was appointed as a Judge of Oyo State Judiciary and sworn in as a Judge of the High Court November 2, 1992.
10 – He served as Chairman, Board of Directors, Phonex Motors Ltd – one of Oodua Investment conglomerates – between 1988 and 1992.
11 – Ariwoola served as Chairman, Armed Robbery Tribunal, Oyo State, between May 1993 and September 1996 when he was posted out of the headquarters, Ibadan, to Saki High Court.
12 – He served on the Election Tribunals in Zamfara and Enugu States in 1999, and on Election Appeal Courts in Port-Harcourt, Enugu, Benin, Yola, and Ilorin at various times.
13 – He was sworn in as Justice of the Court of Appeal on November 22, 2005.
14 – He was sworn in as Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on November 22, 2011.
15 – Justice Ariwoola was sworn in as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria by President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, June 27, 2022.
