Statecraft & Independence
Landmark
Aloma Mariam Mukhtar
born 1944
Nigeria's first woman Chief Justice
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Nigeria Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
The first woman to lead Nigeria's judiciary, and before that the first woman from northern Nigeria to qualify as a lawyer at all.
Aloma Mariam Mukhtar was born in Kano and read law in Britain, returning in 1967 as the first woman from northern Nigeria to be called to the bar — in a region where very few girls of her generation finished secondary school.
She then became the first northern Nigerian woman to be appointed a High Court judge, the first woman on the Court of Appeal, the first woman to become a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and in 2012 the first woman Chief Justice of Nigeria. Each of those was a first for the country as well as for the north.
As Chief Justice she moved directly against corruption in the judiciary, retiring or dismissing judges found to have taken money and reforming the disciplinary machinery, and she pushed hard on the appointment of women, whose numbers on the bench rose sharply during her tenure. She reached the mandatory retirement age in 2014.
She then became the first northern Nigerian woman to be appointed a High Court judge, the first woman on the Court of Appeal, the first woman to become a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and in 2012 the first woman Chief Justice of Nigeria. Each of those was a first for the country as well as for the north.
As Chief Justice she moved directly against corruption in the judiciary, retiring or dismissing judges found to have taken money and reforming the disciplinary machinery, and she pushed hard on the appointment of women, whose numbers on the bench rose sharply during her tenure. She reached the mandatory retirement age in 2014.
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