Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa, OFR (born March 1950) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

judge and former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the Nigerian courts of appeal. She is the first female to be the President of the Nigerian court of appeal.

Early life

Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkacha OFR (Rtd) was born on 6th March, 1950 to Alhaji Abubakar Gidado El-Nafaty and Hajiya Aishatu Dudu El-Nafaty. An indigene of Nafada Local Government Area of

Gombe State Gombe State (; ) is a States of Nigeria, state in North East (Nigeria), northeastern Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by the states of Borno State, Borno in the vicinity of Gongola River and Lake Dadin Kowa Dam, Dadin Kowa and Yobe S ...

Education

She began her Primary Education at Tudun Wada Primary School in Kaduna and also attended Senior Primary School, in Kaduna -

Kaduna State Kaduna (, جىِهَر كَدُنا; مدينة كدونا; , ; ) is a States of Nigeria, state in the northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna (city), Kaduna, which was the List of Nigerian ...

between 1957 in 1963, where she acquired her First School Leaving Certificate in 1963. She later enrolled at Queen Elizabeth School in

Ilorin Ilorin is the capital city of Kwara State located in the Western region of Nigeria. The city is a major hub for transportation and commerce in the region. . Retrieved 18 February 2007 Although Ilorin is classified under the North-Central g ...

Kwara State Kwara () is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger State, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the international border with Benin. Its ca ...

where she obtained her

West African School Certificate The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is a type of standardized test in West Africa. Students who pass the exam receive a certificate confirming their graduation from secondary education. It is administered by the West Af ...

(WASC) in 1968. Honourable Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa proceeded to Abdullahi Bayero College

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...

for her GCE ‘A’ Levels between 1971 and 1972 and in 1975 she obtained her LL.B (Hons) from

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 ...

. She then proceeded 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 ...

Bwari -

Federal Capital Territory A capital district, capital region, or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any politic ...

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

between 1975 and 1976.

Marital life

The former president court of appeal justice Zainab has married twice after the death of her first husband as she disclosed at valedictory court session done in her honour by the River state Governor

Nyesom Wike Ezenwo Nyesom Wike (born 13 December 1964) is a Nigerian politician and lawyer who has served as the minister of the Federal Capital Territory since 2023. He previously served as the governor of Rivers State from 2015 to 2023. He is an Ikw ...

. She is currently married to a former senator who is also a member of APC, Senator Adamu Muhammad bulkachukwu Justice Zainab's eldest son, Aliyu Haidar Abubakar is a youth activist based in

contested for Gombe Governorship election in 2018

Call to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call t ...

She was

Call to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call t ...

in 1976 and was appointed to the bench of the Nigerian courts of appeals as Justice in 1998. Prior to that appointment, she was a Judge at the High Court of

Bauchi State Bauchi (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Jigawa State, Jigawa to the north, Yobe State, Y ...

. She presided over the

Sokoto State Sokoto ( Hausa: ; Fula: , ''Leydi Sokoto'') is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country. It is bounded by Republic of the Niger to the north and west for 363 km (226 miles), and the states of Zamf ...

governorship election petition of 2007 and the suit in which Timipre Sylva's petition challenged the nomination of Seriake Dickson as the State flag-bearer of the Peoples' Democratic Party, a case that was dismissed by the

Supreme Court of Nigeria The Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN) is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what is known as the Three Arms Zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the Presidential Complex, the National Ass ...

. On April 17, 2014, she was appointed as the first female president of the Nigerian courts of appeals by President

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari and w ...

, sworn in by Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, a former chief justice of Nigeria and who coincidentally is first female chief justice of the

Federal Republic of Nigeria Nigeria, 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 Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Membership

*Member,

Nigerian Bar Association The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is a non-profit, umbrella professional association of lawyers admitted to the Bar by the Council of Legal Education in Nigeria. It is engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and ...

*Member,

International Bar Association The International Bar Association (IBA), founded in 1947, is a bar association of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. The IBA in 2018 had a membership of more than 80,000 individual lawyers and 190 bar associati ...

*Member,

Nigerian Body of Benchers The Nigerian Body of Benchers is a professional body concerned with the admission of successful candidates into the Legal Profession at the Nigerian Law School Bar Final Examination. Members of the body are called '' Benchers''. The body also re ...

Retirement

Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa retired from active service on her 70th birthday, 6th March 2020 and a Valedictory Court Session In her Honor was held on the 5th of March 2020

References

1950 births Living people Nigerian jurists People from Gombe State {{Nigeria-bio-stub