Ag CJN in age falsification scandal
Barely twenty hours after he was sworn in as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola has allegedly become enmeshed in an age falsification scandal as his curriculum vitae indicates that he was born in 1958 and started his elentary education in 1959.
Ariwoola was sworn in by President Muhammadu Buhari as the acting chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), on Monday following the sudden resignation of Ibrahim Tanko Muhammed who had served as CJN since 2019.
The new helmsman at the Supreme Court of Nigeria was born in Iseyin, Oyo state, on August 22, 1958, according to information posted on the website of the apex court.
He began his primary education less than a year later in 1959 at the Local Authority Demonstration School, Oluwole, in his hometown. He would spend eight years in school before graduating in 1967.
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 of Oyo, for secondary education.
He earned his law degree from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1980, and a year later he was called to the Nigerian bar and got enrolled as a solicitor and advocate of the supreme court.
Following the controversy trailing the seeming discrepancies in his curriculum vitae, the date of birth has now been edited and deleted, replaced by “he was born over 60 years ago”. Ariwoola is expected to serve in acting capacity until confirmation by the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the National Assembly.
At the swearing-in ceremony in the presidential villa, he swore to be faithful and bear true allegiance to the federal government, as well as defend the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
