Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu (born 11 September 1957) is a

Supreme Court judge A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

of the

Republic of Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

. He was appointed the Justice of the High Court between 2008 and 2012. He became an Appeal court judge from 2012. He was nominated by the president

Nana Akufo-Addo Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( ; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the president of Ghana since 7 January 2017. In 2020, he was re-elected for his second term, which will end on 6 January 2025. Akufo-Addo previously ...

. He is the first Muslim to serve on Ghana's Supreme Court.

Personal life and education

Issifu was born on 11 September 1957 in

Dodowa Dodowa is a town located in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, it is the district capital of Dangme West district, now Shai Osudoku District. The city is 39 km from the capital city, Accra. The notable tourist site found there is the Dodo ...

in the

Greater Accra Region The Greater Accra Region has the smallest area of Ghana's 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of 3,245 square kilometres. This is 1.4 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the second most populated region, befor ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

. He attended District Assembly Primary School and Methodist Middle School, both located in Dodowa for his basic education. He later had his secondary education at

Ghanata Senior High School Ghanata Senior High School is a boarding public senior high school located in Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Founded by Rev. E. Osabutey Aguedze in 1936, initially in Adidome as Gold Coast People's College in the Volta region of ...

and Ghana Senior High School situated in

Koforidua Koforidua, also popularly known as K-dua or Kofcity, is a city and the capital of Eastern Region in southern Ghana. Koforidua was founded in 1875 by migrants from Ashanti. It is also called New Juaben. The city has a settlement city proper popu ...

. He obtained his LLB at the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the B ...

and moved on to the

Ghana School of Law The Ghana School of Law (GSL) is an educational institution in Ghana for training lawyers. The school is the only one that provides training for law graduates in the Barrister at Law program. The Professional Law Course is designed for Law Gradu ...

for his professional law course. He sojourned in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

before obtaining a professional law course at the

School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, l ...

Career

After gaining some practical experience with Azinyo Chambers located in Accra, he worked with some Nigerian law firms such as A.C Mathews & Co. and later as an Associate Member of Alao Aka Bashorun & Co. both located in

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

. He worked as a lawyer in Nigeria for nineteen years. He founded his own firm and became the Principal of Amadu & Co. in 1997 and after the

Senior Partner A partner in a law firm, accounting firm, consulting firm, or financial firm is a highly ranked position, traditionally indicating co-ownership of a partnership in which the partners were entitled to a share of the profits as "equity partners". T ...

Amadu, Ansah-Obiri & Co. Issifu appointed to the High Court in 2008 and was promoted to the Court of Appeal in 2012.

Nomination

He was sworn into office by the president

. It was done at a ceremony at the

Jubilee House Golden Jubilee House, or Jubilee House, is the presidential palace in Accra that serves as a residence and office to the President of Ghana. Jubilee House is built on the site of a building that was constructed and used for administrative pu ...

. His nomination was approved by the Parliament of Ghana with other three judges after they were vetted. The rest were Justice Clemence Jackson Honyenuga, Professor. Henrietta J.A.N Mensa-Bonsu, and Mr. Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi.

Awards

He received a Humanity Award from the Humanity Magazine International for inspiring Zongo communities in the field of law.

Later life

In May 2021, he joined

Godfred Yeboah Dame Godfred Yeboah Dame (born 5 June 1979) is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. He is a member of the New Patriotic Party. He was previously the deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice. He is currently the Attorney General. Early life and ed ...

to honor an invitation by

Osman Nuhu Sharubutu Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu (born 23 April 1919) is a Ghanaian Islamic cleric who currently serves as the Chief Imam of Ghana, as well as a member of the National Peace Council. He was first appointed as the Deputy Regional Chief Imam in 1974 after ...

to discuss some issues in Ghana and how to chart a way to resolve them amicably.

References