Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa, OFR (born March 1950) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

judge and former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the Nigerian courts of appeal She is the first Female to be the President of the Nigerian court of Appeal.

Early life

Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkacha OFR (Rtd) was born on 6th March, 1950 to Alhaji Abubakar Gidado El-Nafaty and Hajiya Aishatu Dudu El-Nafaty. An indigene of

Nafada Nafada is a Local Government Area (LGA) of Gombe State, Nigeria. Its headquarter is in the town of Nafada in the east of the area at , on the Gongola River which traverses the area. According to the 2006 census, the LGA covers 1,586 square kilo ...

Local Government Area of

Gombe State Gombe State ( ff, Leyddi Gommbe 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤺𞤮𞤥𞥆𞤦𞤫) is a state in northeastern Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by the state of Borno and Yobe, to the south by Taraba State, to the southeast by Adamawa Stat ...

Education

She began her Primary Education at Tudun Wada Primary School in

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern Nige ...

and also attended Senior Primary School, in

Kaduna State Kaduna State ( ha, Jihar Kaduna جىِهَر كَدُنا; ff, Leydi Kaduna, script=Latn, ; kcg, Sitet Kaduna) is a state in northern Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in ...

between 1957 in 1963, where she acquired her First School Leaving Certificate in 1963. She later enrolled at Queen Elizabeth School in Ilorin - Kwara State where she obtained her West African School Certificate (WASC) in 1968. Honourable Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa proceeded to Abdullahi Bayero College

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

for her GCE ‘A’ Levels between 1971 and 1972 and in 1975 she obtained her LL.B (Hons) from

Ahmadu Bello University Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, A ...

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna State, Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau, Zazzau Emirate ...

. She then proceeded to the Nigerian Law School Bwari -

Federal Capital Territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

, Abuja between 1975 and 1976.

Marital life

The former president court of appeal justice Zainab has married twice after the death of her first husband as she disclosed at valedictory court session done in her honour by the River state Governor Nyesom Wike. She is currently married to a former Senator who is also a member of APC, Senator Adamu Muhammad bulkachukwu Justice Zainab's eldest son, Aliyu Haidar Abubakar is a youth activist based in Abuja contested for Gombe Governorship election in 2018

Call to the bar

She was Call to the bar in 1976 and was appointed to the bench of the Nigerian courts of appeals as Justice in 1998. Prior to that appointment, she was a Judge at the High Court of

Bauchi State Bauchi State (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Kano and Jigawa to the north, Taraba and Plateau to the south, Gombe and Yobe to the e ...

. She presided over the

Sokoto State Sokoto State (Hausa: Jihar Sokoto Fula: Leydi Sokoto 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤧𞤮𞥅𞤳𞤮𞥅𞤼𞤮𞥅) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country on the national border with the Republic of the N ...

governorship election petition of 2007 and the suit in which

Timipre Sylva Timipre Marlin Sylva (born 7 July 1964) is a Nigerian politician, he is a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Nigeria, and the current Nigeria Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. Early life and background Sylva was born in Brass, Bayelsa ...

's petition challenged the nomination of Seriake Dickson as the State flag-bearer of the Peoples' Democratic Party, a case that was dismissed by 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 ...

. On April 17, 2014, she was appointed as the first female President of the Nigerian courts of appeals by President

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to ...

, sworn-in by

Aloma Mariam Mukhtar Aloma Mariam Mukhtar (born 20 November 1944) is a Nigerian jurist and former Chief Justice of Nigeria from July 2012 to November 2014. She was called to the English Bar in November, 1966 and to the Nigerian Bar in 1967. On 16 July 2012, Preside ...

, A former Chief Justice of Nigeria and who coincidentally is first female Chief Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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 associa ...

*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 ...

Retirement

Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa retired from active service on her 70th birthday, 6th march 2020 and a Valedictory Court Session In her Honor was held on the 5th of march 2020

References

1950 births Living people Nigerian jurists People from Gombe State {{Nigeria-bio-stub