Olukayode Ariwoola (born 22 August 1954) is a Nigerian

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

and justice of the

Supreme Court of Nigeria The Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN) is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what is known as the Three Arms Zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the Presidential Complex, the National Ass ...

who serves as the chief justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He was formerly a justice of the Nigerian courts of appeal and on 22 November 2011, he was appointed to the bench of the supreme court of Nigeria. He was appointed substantive

Chief Justice of Nigeria The Chief Justice of Nigeria or CJN is the head of the judicial arm of the government of Nigeria, and presides over the country's Supreme Court and the National Judicial Council. The current Chief Justice is Olukayode Ariwoola who was app ...

on 27 June 2022 following the resignation of incumbent Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad and formally confirmed Chief Justice by the

Nigerian Senate The Senate is the upper chamber of Nigeria's bicameral legislature, the National Assembly of Nigeria. The National Assembly (popularly referred to as NASS) is the nation's highest legislature, whose power is to make laws, is summarized in chapt ...

on 21 September 2022.

Early life and education

Ariwoola was born in Iseyin, Oyo State, started his primary education in Local Authority Demonstration School, Oluwole in Iseyin local government area of

Oyo State Oyo State is an inland state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the east by Osun ...

. He then proceeded to Muslim Modern School in the same town from 1968 to 1969 and later attended Ansar-Ud-Deen High School Shaki, Oyo State where he completed his High School.

Legal career

Ariwoola graduated from the University of Ife (now

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal government-owned university that is located in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife ...

), Ile Ife, Osun State where he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Law (LLB). He was called to the

Nigerian bar The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is a non-profit, umbrella professional association of all lawyers admitted to the bar in Nigeria. It is engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and good governance in Nigeria. T ...

and got enrolled at the

as a Solicitor and Advocate in July 1981. Ariwoola started his career as a State Counsel on

National Youth Service Corps The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a program set up by the Nigerian government during the military regime to involve Nigerian graduates in nation-building and the development of the country. There is no military conscription in Nigeria, ...

(NYSC) at the Ministry of Justice, Akure, Ondo State and later as a Legal Officer in the Ministry of Justice, Oyo State until 1988 when he voluntarily left the State Civil Service for private practice. He had 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 from where he was appointed in November 1992 as a Judge of Oyo State Judiciary. He was Chairman, Board of Directors, Phonex Motors Ltd – one of Oodua Investment conglomerate between 1988 and 1992, 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. Ariwoola before his elevation to the Supreme Court served as Justice of the Court of Appeal in Kaduna, Enugu and Lagos Divisions. Justice Olukayade Ariwoola is presently the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

Membership

*Member,

Nigerian Bar Association The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is a non-profit, umbrella professional association of all lawyers admitted to the bar in Nigeria. It is engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and good governance in Nigeria. T ...

*Member,

International Bar Association The International Bar Association (IBA), founded in 1947, is a bar association of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. The IBA currently has a membership of more than 80,000 individual lawyers and 190 bar associat ...

*Member,

Nigerian Body of Benchers The Nigerian Body of Benchers is a professional body concerned with the admission of successful candidates at the Nigerian Law School Bar Final Examination into the Legal Proffession. Members of the body are called ''Benchers''. The body also re ...

National honours

In October 2022,

Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger Nigeria became an independent country on 1 October 1960 and in 1963 became the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The republic instituted two orders of merit: the Order of the Niger and the Order of the Federal Republic. Award The two highest honour ...

(GCON), a Nigerian national honour was conferred on Ariwoola by President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

References

11. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/07/breaking-buhari-writes-senate-seeks-the-confirmation-of-ariwoola-as-cjn/ Nigerian jurists Living people Yoruba legal professionals Supreme Court of Nigeria justices 1958 births {{Nigeria-bio-stub