Nigeria-trained lawyer Dapo Akande elected to UN’s top court

Dapo Akande, an Oxford law professor who first qualified as a lawyer in Nigeria, was elected a judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the United Nations on Tuesday.

The UK government, which nominated him, announced his election and said he would sit on the court for nine years. Akande said he was “deeply honoured” and added: “I pledge to serve with independence and to deciding cases on the basis of a faithful and impartial application of the law.”

The ICJ, which sits in The Hague, is the UN’s main court. It settles legal disputes between states and gives advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by UN bodies.

Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jimoh Ibrahim, congratulated President Bola Tinubu and called the election another significant achievement for Nigeria at the UN, TVC News reported. Ibrahim said a seat on the UN Security Council was the one milestone Nigeria still had to reach.

Akande earned his law degree at the University of Ife in 1992 and qualified as a barrister and solicitor in Nigeria in 1993, TVC News reported. He is Chichele Professor of Public International Law at the University of Oxford, a Fellow of All Souls College and a member of the UN International Law Commission.

The UK government said it had not had a judge on the court for almost a decade, and that Akande has advised governments from all five UN regional groups, as well as the UN and the African Union.

Candidates need an absolute majority in both the General Assembly and the Security Council. Akande, Francois Alabrune of France, Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud of Jordan and Rena Lee of Singapore won in the first round, Anadolu Agency reported. Kenya’s Phoebe Okowa took the fifth seat after further rounds of voting.

The five judges take office on 6 February 2027, when the terms of five current members of the court end.

Sources: UK government (FCDO); Anadolu Agency; TVC News