Rosaline Patricia Irorefe Bozimo (born 1 January 1946) is a Nigerian lawyer who was appointed Chief Justice of

Delta State Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...

with effect from 23 March 2003. She retired on 1 January 2011 and was succeeded by Honorable Justice Abiodun Smith. During the tenure of Walter Onnoghen as the

Chief Justice of Nigeria The chief justice of Nigeria or CJN is the head of the judicial arm of the government of Nigeria, and presides over the country's Supreme Court and the National Judicial Council. The current chief justice is Kudirat Kekere-Ekun who was appoi ...

(CJN), she served as the Administrator, National Judicial Institute (NJI).

Background

Rosaline Bozimo was born on 1 January 1946 in

Warri South Warri South is a Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the city of Warri. It has an important sea port in the country and is the commercial nerve centre of the state, With Dr. Tidi Michael as the current local go ...

Local Government Area of Delta State. She attended St. Maria Goretti Grammar School,

Benin City Benin City serves as the Capital city, capital and largest Metropolitan area, metropolitan centre of Edo State, situated in Nigeria, southern Nigeria. It ranks as the List of Nigerian cities by population, fourth-most populous city in Niger ...

for her Secondary education, and then Urhobo College, Effurun. In September 1970 she was admitted to

Ahmadu Bello University The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) is a public research university located in Zaria, Nigeria, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was opened in 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria. The university has four colleges, three schools, 18 faculties, ...

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State. It serves as the capital of the Zazzau Emirate Council and is one of the original sev ...

, gaining a degree in law in 1973. She then went to the

Nigerian Law School The Nigerian Law School is an educational institution set up to provide professional certification to graduates of law. The school was established in Lagos under the Legal Education Act 1962, now Legal Education (Consolidation Etc) Act Cap. L1 ...

and was called to Bar in 1974. After National Youth Service in

Enugu Enugu () verbally pronounced as "Enụgwụ" by the Igbo indigenes is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the so ...

and

Onitsha Onitsha ( or simply ''Ọ̀nị̀chà'') is a city on the eastern bank of the Niger River, in Anambra State, Nigeria. Onitsha along with various cities and towns in southern Anambra State, northern Imo State and neighboring Delta State on the we ...

in the then East Central State, she became a private legal practitioner in 1975. With her husband Alaowei Broderick Bozimo she was a founding partner of Broderick Bozimo & Co. She was briefly a member of the Judiciary of the old

Bendel State The Mid-Western Region was a division of Nigeria from 1963 to 1991, from 1976 being known as the Bendel state. It was formed in June 1963 from Benin and Delta provinces of the Western Region, and its capital was Benin City. It was renamed a pro ...

as a Magistrate, before returning to private law practice (1978–1983). In December 1983 she was again appointed a Magistrate of Bendel State, becoming a Chief Magistrate in August 1988. When

was created out of the old Bendel State in 1991, she became the first Chairman of the Tenders Board of the High Court of Delta State, and Chief Registrar of the state High Court in September of the same year. In December she was sworn in as a High Court judge. The Military Administrator of Delta State, Colonel Bassey Asuquo, appointed her Chairman of the Armed Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Effurun, Delta State. She was also chairman, Failed Banks Tribunal, Enugu Zone. After serving as Administrative Judge in three Judicial Divisions, she was appointed as the Chief Judge of Delta state with effect from 23 March 2003.

Chief Judge, Delta State

In December 2003 in a bid to ease the congestion in prisons, Rosaline Bozimo set free 59 prisoners awaiting trial. She warned police against dumping suspected criminals in prisons without making real efforts to prosecute them. In September 2007 Bozimo sacked Agbor Chief Magistrate, Mr. Charles Maidoh based on allegations he had been collecting a N5,000 bribe for each application for bail he granted. In November 2007, at the All Nigeria Judges Conference, she spoke about the National Judicial Council (NJC), which is charged with monitoring and evaluating judges. After giving a brief history of the NJC and discussing its roles, she gave a very positive appraisal, stating that standards of judicial conduct were now extremely high throughout Nigeria. In October 2007 Bozimo made a strong case for the financial autonomy of the judiciary in Delta State and canvassed for better working conditions for members of the state's judiciary. In November 2008, Bozimo and Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan approved establishment of sanitation mobile courts to prosecute sanitation offenders in the State. Due to repeated petitions over electoral irregularities, Bozimo appointed Local Government Election Tribunals for three zones of the state, adding a fourth in August 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bozimo, Rosaline 1946 births Living people People from Delta State 20th-century Nigerian judges 21st-century Nigerian judges Nigerian women judges 20th-century women judges 21st-century women judges