Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who was denied entry to the U.S. following a controversial 2020 judgment that declared APC’s Hope Uzodimma as the governor of Imo State, has been appointed as the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
Ms. Kekere-Ekun, 66, took over the leadership of the Nigerian judiciary from Justice Kayode Ariwoola, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 on Thursday.
The National Judicial Council recommended Ms. Kekere-Ekun for the position of Chief Justice during a meeting last week, emphasizing that the role was too important to be left vacant.
According to former Cross River Governor Donald Duke, the U.S. government rejected Kekere-Ekun’s visa application because she was part of the panel of justices that removed PDP’s Emeka Ihedioha from the Imo governorship and declared Uzodimma the winner of the highly contested election.
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“Apart from the recent cases, there is another one where number four became number one, the Justices that gave that judgment cannot go to the United States today because they have been denied visas,” Mr Duke said at a memoir launch in February 2023.”
The former governor emphasized that the judges, who planned to visit the U.S. for a legal conference, were denied visas, while their accompanying aides were granted them.
“They wanted to go on a retreat. Their aides received visas, but the judges did not. How much humiliation can we endure as a nation before we say enough is enough?” Mr. Duke remarked.
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