After what looked like eternity, the Nigerian Senate has finally confirmed Biase, Cross River State born Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen as the substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria, www.calitown.com sources in Abuja just said. His confirmation comes after seeming attempts were made to stall his emergence, prompting subtle protests from loud voices within the legal and socio-political spheres in the country.
Born on December 22, 1950 in Okurike, Biase L.G.A. of Cross Rivers State, Onnoghen attended schools in Nigeria and Ghana. He obtained his law degree from the University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana between 1974 and 1977, graduating with a 2nd Class Upper Division. He also attended the Nigerian Law School, Victoria Island, Lagos between 1977 and 1978 and was called to the Nigerian Bar thereafter.
Between 1989 – 1998, he served as a High Court Judge in Cross River State before moving to the Court of Appeal, later in 1998 and serving there till 2005 when he was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He is enters the history books as the first CJN from Cross River State. He is the second Southerner in 29 years to occupy this position, the last being Justice Ayo Irikefe.