The Nigerian legal profession is seeing more women making significant progress in attaining leadership roles at the Bar and the Bench.
Many remarkable women are breaking new ground and becoming “firsts” in the legal profession.
Nigeria has recorded landmark achievements, including Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria, and Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, the first female President of the Court of Appeal.
Findings from Dataphyte revealed that women in the justice system can act as agents of change, reports The Nation.
Diversity and inclusion enrich all institutions and contribute to greater accountability.
Women judges also bring different perspectives and experiences, strengthening judicial systems.
In March 2026, Justice Tinuade Akomolafe-Wilson said that increasing female representation in the judiciary is not merely about numerical balance but is essential to the legitimacy of the justice system itself.
Similarly, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria, led by Eliana Martins, FIDA Country Vice President/National President, expressed concern over the gross under-representation of women in leadership positions within Nigeria’s judiciary, despite increasing female participation in the legal profession and notable milestones recorded over the years.
The margin between the two genders in the field remains wide.
They are as follows:
1. Chief Justice of Nigeria – Justice Kudirat Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun
2. President, Court of Appeal – Hon. Justice Monica Bolna’an Dongban-Mensem
3. DG, Nigerian Law School – Dr. Olugbemisola Titilayo Odusote
4. President-elect, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) – Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya
Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo was born on May 7, 1958. She is popularly known as Kudirat Kekere-Ekun. She has served as the Chief Justice of Nigeria since 22nd of August 2024. She was appointed Chief Justice following the retirement of Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
In 1980, she received a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Lagos and was admitted to the Nigerian Bar on July 10, 1981, having graduated from the Nigerian Law School. She received a Master’s degree in Law from the London School of Economics in November 1983.
On August 23, 2024, Kekere-Ekun was sworn in by President Bola Tinubu at the Council Chamber of the State House in Abuja. Her appointment makes her the second woman to become Nigeria’s Chief Justice after Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar. Kekere-Ekun is also the first woman from the Southwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria to become Chief Justice of Nigeria.
Monica Bolna’an Dongban-Mensem was born on June 13, 1957. She is the President of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria. Her appointment was confirmed on Thursday, June 11, 2020.
Dongban-Mensem is the daughter of Pa William Shaltuen Mensem, a teacher. She was educated at Ahmadu Bello University, where she gained a LL.B and LL.M. She then studied for a postgraduate diploma at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in London.
Dr. Olugbemisola Titilayo Odusote is the Director-General of the Nigerian Law School. The appointment takes effect on January 10, 2026, for a four-year term.
She is the first woman to lead the institution since its establishment in 1962. Odusote obtained her LL.B. degree from Obafemi Awolowo University and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988. She holds an LL.M from the same university, specialising in company and commercial law.
She later obtained a PhD in Law from the University of Surrey, in the United Kingdom, with research interests in Public Law and the Administration of Justice.
Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), is now the President-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
She will be the second woman to lead the Nigerian Bar in its 66-year-old history, following Priscilla Kuye, who emerged as the first president of the association of Nigerian lawyers in 1991 and held the position until 1992.
The NBA will inaugurate its new national officers who emerged from Saturday’s election during its Annual General Conference scheduled for August 21 and 28 August in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Badejo-Okusanya was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2002 after obtaining her Law degree from the University of Lagos, where she previously earned a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in English.
She started her legal career at Olaniwun Ajayi LP and became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the highest honour in the Nigerian legal profession, on September 29, 2025.
