Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa

Akin Kuponiyi

The President of  Court of Appeal, Honourable Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa OFR. CFR, will on March 6, 2020 bow out of the Bench as she clocks  the statutory mandatory retirement age of 70 years for Justices of Appeal Court.

In a programme of event  lined up for her retirement   , a special valedictory court session/ reception in honour of the retiring President of the Court of Appeal, will hold on Wednesday February 19, 2020 ( tomorrow) at the Court of Appeal  complex , Lagos Division, Igbosere Road, Lagos. south west Nigeria.

The Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, Honourable Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba JCA and other Justices of the Appeal Court in other divisions across the federation, Federal and State High Court judges and other judicial  officers will attend the valedictory session.

Born on March 6, 1950, Honourable Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa, an indigene of Nafada Local Government Area of Gombe State, was born to the family of Alhaji Abubakar Gidado EL-Nafaty in Bauchi, Bauchi State.

She had her Primary Education at Tudun Wada Primary School, Kaduna in 1957 before moving to Senior Primary School, Maiduguri Road, Kaduna in 1961, where she obtained her First School Leaving Certificate in 1963. Thereafter, she enrolled at Queen Elizabeth School, Ilorin where she got her West African School Certificate (WASC) in 1968.

Honourable Justice  Bulkachuwa proceeded to Abdullahi Bayero College/Ahmadu Bello University Kano between 1971 and 1972 for her GCE ‘A’ Levels and in 1975 she obtained her LL.B (Hons) from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Between 1975 and 1976 she attended the Nigerian Law School.

The retiring Court of Appeal president  started her working career as a National Youth Service Corp member on primary assignment at the Ministry of Justice, Kaduna in 1976. She rose through the cadre to become a Chief Magistrate from 1985 to 1987. Her commitment to service led to her appointment as a High Court Judge in 1987.

At the creation of Gombe State she was deployed and sworn in as the Chief Judge of Gombe State Judiciary in 1997. In 1998 she was appointed as Justice, Court of Appeal (JCA) and on April 17, 2014, former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan approved her  appointment as Honourable Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa as The President, Court of Appeal.

She was sworn in by Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, the former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and first female CJN.

She has received a substantial number of awards, notable among which are two National Awards; OFR and CFR in 2008 and 2014 respectively. She is a member of numerous professional bodies and has served on various Judicial Committees. She has also attended workshops and seminars in Nigeria and overseas.