Before her nominations as the new Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, which will make her become the first female CJN, Justice Mukhtar has always scored firsts.
Mukhtar, who hails from Kano State, started her law career in 1967.
She is the first female judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court on June 8, 2005. After her, it took four years for the second lady, Justice Olufunlola Oyelola Adekeye, to get the attention of the National Judicial Council (NJC), which has the responsibility of recommending qualified judicial officers for the position.
Her latest nomination as the new CJN has indeed opened a new chapter in the history of the Judiciary in Nigeria.
She was called to the Nigerian Bar in1967, a year after she was called to the English Bar. She is also the first female lawyer in the Northern part of the country.
Legal practitioners and colleagues describe her as independent-minded, who is well suited to bring about the needed reforms in a judiciary, which has suffered moral and integrity challenges.
It was gathered that Muktar was nominated by the Kano State government to the appellate court in 1987.
She was one of the justices who gave a dissenting judgment that is widely acclaimed in legal circles and the academics in the Yar’Adua/Buhari election result dispute in 2007.
In that judgment, the incoming CJN alongside Justices George Oguntade, (now retired) and Walter Onnoghen, held that there was substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2006, which vitiated the election of the late President.
An erudite judge, full of passion, her judgments have also been commended by all and her views on the matter are respected.
One of the cases in which, she demonstrated scholarship was in the case between Kunle Osisanya and Afribank.
ALL is now set for the historic swearing-in of Justice Mariam Aloma-Mukhtar by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as the first woman Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) as the CJN Justice Dahiru Musdapher bows out tomorrow.
Already, the Senate has confirmed Mukthar as the CJN, paving the way for her swearing in next Monday.
This is happening on the heels of appointing the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Dame Patience Jonathan, as one of the seventeen new Permanent Secretaries in its state civil service by the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson.I wish I could say Dame Patience is making history like Justice Aloma,sadly I cant and won't ,because it is just not a well deserved appointment.Let her face her first lady duties,I thought there was an office of the first lady?. Is she now so jobless as a first lady that she can afford to take on a full job as a permanent secretary in a state.Is this another way of siphoning money into her purse?haba,what kind of leaders do we have?. To think I was becoming a fan of this Dickson.Could he just be another noisemaker after all. My sincere opinion as a Nigerian citizen...
Excerpts from the Guardian Newspapers.
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