Fresh questions have been raised over the credentials of the newly sworn-in Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, particularly on the date on which he began school.
Recall that on Monday, Ariwoola was sworn-in by President Muhammadu Buhari as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, (CJN), following the resignation of his predecessor, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, on health grounds.
According to information on the website of the Supreme Court, Ariwoola, who is expected to serve in an acting capacity until confirmation by the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the National Assembly, was born in Iseyin, Oyo State, on August 22, 1958.
Curiously, his date of birth was however edited and deleted, replaced by the words: “he was born over 60 years ago”.
According to the site, he began his primary education less than a year later, in 1959, at the Local Authority Demonstration School, Oluwole, his hometown. He would spend eight years in school before graduating in 1967.
It further stated that he then moved to Muslim Modern School, in the same town, from 1968 to 1969 before graduating to Ansar-Ud-Deen High School, Saki area in Oyo State, for secondary education.
It alao stated that the new Acting CJN earned his law degree from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1980, and that a year later he was called to the Nigerian Bar, and got enrolled as a solicitor and advocate of the Supreme Court.
Before Ariwoola was sworn in to his new role, insiders within the apex court told newsmen that some northern Justices were against his appointment on the grounds that the 63-year-old is battling health issues.
They alleged that the illness might affect Ariwoola’s performance as the leader of the Supreme Court just as it did the immediate-past CJN.
