Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who was denied entry to the United States following a 2020 controversial judgement that declared APC’s Hope Uzodimma as Imo governor, has been appointed the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

Ms Kekere-Ekun, 66, took over the reins of the Nigerian judiciary in an acting capacity from Justice Kayode Ariwoola, who clocked the mandatory retirement age of 70 on Thursday.

The National Judicial Council recommended Ms Kekere-Ekun as the judiciary chief in a meeting last week, asserting the seat was too crucial to be left vacant.

The U.S. government rejected the visa application of Ms Kekere-Ekun, who was among a panel of justices that sacked PDP’s Emeka Ihedioha from the Imo governorship seat and pronounced Mr Uzodimma winner of the hotly-contested polls, according to Daily Independent.

Former Cross-River Governor Donald Duke also alluded to the incident in his memoir.

“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 stressed that the jurists who intended to visit the U.S. to attend a legal conference were barred while their accompanying aides were issued visas.

“They want to go on a retreat. Their aides were given visas but they were not given. How much disgrace can we take as a nation before we say enough is enough?” Mr Duke stated.

Mrs Kekere-Ekun will be sent to the Nigerian Senate for confirmation, where President Bola Tinubu expected her to scale through easily.

The decision of Mrs Kekere-Ekun’s Supreme Court that gave Imo governorship to Mr Uzodimma was widely deemed among the most controversial in the court’s history.

A recently retired Supreme Court justice, Dattijo Muhammad, roundly criticised the court as filled with judicial bandits and bribe-takers.