VENERATED WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE, JUSTICE ALOMA MUKTAR IN WHOOP OF JOY

Justice Maryam Aloma Muktar

- Celebrates 70th Birthday and Retirement Ceremonies
-Hosts Classy Wedding Party for Son
-First Lady, Patience Jonathan, Many Prominent Dignitaries In Attendance


Last Thursday, November 20, Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar bowed out as the 14th Chief Justice of Nigeria, having attained the mandatory retirement age of 70 for Supreme Court Justices. She handed hand over to Justice Mahmud Mohammed whose nomination was sent to the Senate by President Goodluck Jonathan for confirmation.

The days preceding Aloma Muktar's retirement from the Bench were characterized by celebration. First of such celebrations was the wedding ceremony of her son, Abdulkareem. The traditional wedding between Abdulkareem and his wife, Zainab took place last weekend at the bride's family home in Kaduna State. On Wednesday, November 19, Justice Aloma Muktar hosted a classy wedding reception for the couple. The event, which took place at Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja, was graced by the Nigerian First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, who led a powerful delegation of prominent women to the event. Dame Jonathan also officiated the cutting of the cake by the couple. The week-long celebration climaxed with the 70th birthday and Retirement ceremony of the highly esteemed woman. This was also held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja. 

Justice Aloma Mukhtar, no doubt, left office with pride, and she will be remembered as the first, and to date, the only woman to have occupied the position of CJN. She will also be remembered for her hard work and efforts at overhauling the judiciary to bolster public confidence.

On assuming office some 28 months ago, Justice Mukhtar declared a zero tolerance for corruption as she began to cleanse the Bench of its rot. In the process, some judges lost their jobs while many were suspended for varying periods of time. It was a tightrope to walk for the CJN, given the fact that many justices expressed the fear that the inherent right to exercise their discretion was being questioned and curtailed, as many aggrieved litigants, who had lost their cases for valid reasons, were unjustifiably petitioned against, at the NJC. But she stood her grounds. She also took her reform efforts to judicial personnel--court bailiffs, court clerks and registrars, court messengers, court typists and others who equally play very important roles in the dispensation of justice.