Number of female judges’ low at Court of Appeal – NBA

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has lamented the low number of female justices on the bench of the Court of Appeal, noting that the figure reflects the poor gender diversity of the country. National President of the NBA, Paul Usoro (SAN), who traced the first appointment of a female to the bench of the appellate […]

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has lamented the low number of female justices on the bench of the Court of Appeal, noting that the figure reflects the poor gender diversity of the country.

National President of the NBA, Paul Usoro (SAN), who traced the first appointment of a female to the bench of the appellate court to 1987, following the elevation of Justice Aloma Mukhtar, disclosed that out of the 86 justices of the Court of Appeal only 23 are females.

Usoro, who spoke at the special valedictory session held in honour of the Court of Appeal President, Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa, called for inclusion of  more female justices into the bench of the appellate court.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad on Friday swore in Justice Monica Dongben-Mensen, another female, as Acting President of the Court of Appeal.

The NBA said “prior to the elevation of Aloma Mukhtar JCA (as she then was), our appellate courts, notably, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court were all male dominated, and this is in a society where it is believed, has a higher population of females, in real terms,” he said.

Usoro further noted that after the elevation of Mukhtar, it took another six years before the second female Justice of the Court of Appeal, the late Justice Atinuke Ige was appointed to the Court of Appeal bench in 1993.

He said, “Indeed, the number of female justices of the Court of Appeal reached 10 only in 2005 with the elevation of Denton-West JCA, 18 years after the elevation of Aloma Mukhtar (as she then was) and 12 years after the elevation of Atinuke Ige JCA.