Outgoing President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa, has revealed what she will be doing after retiring from office.
Justice Bulkachuwa, who spoke on Wednesday during a visit to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the Lagos House in Marina, is due to retire from service on March 6, 2020 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 years.
She said she would dedicate her retirement life to promoting girl-child education across the country, noting that she would not have achieved her potential had her father not given her a chance to go to school.
Justice Bulkachuwa, who was accompanied by other Justices of the Appeal Court including Justice M.L. Garba of the Lagos division, said she was hopeful that the reforms and discipline she had instituted in the judiciary would be strengthened by the serving members.
She pointed out that she had mentored a new breed of judicial officers to entrench “good legacies” she is leaving behind
Asked why she chose to visit Lagos Governor in her first valedictory visit to any elected official, Justice Bulkachuwa said it was in Lagos the first Court of Appeal was set up among the three divisions created in 1976.
Eminent justices, senior lawyers, traditional rulers and other personalities attended the session which held at the Court of Appeal complex, Lagos Division, Igbosere Road.
She said Lagos is playing pivotal roles in the administration of justice system, pointing out that majority of lawyers in the judiciary are serving in the State. She added that most of Appeal Court’s cases were being instituted in Lagos.
Receiving Justice Bulkachuwa earlier, Governor Sanwo-Olu said his administration will not deviate from the tenet of constitutional democracy, promising that actions of the State Government under his watch will be kept within the ambit of the law.
He said his Government’s faith in the judicial system remained unshakable, adding that Lagos had been a beneficiary of the rule of law
Sanwo-Olu saluted the outgoing Justice Bulkachuwa for her courage in driving far-reaching reforms in the Court of Appeal, saying her legacies would strengthen administration of justice across the country.
Bulkachuwa: A short biography
Justice Bulkachuwa, an indigene of Nafada Local Government Area of Gombe State, was born 6th March, 1950 to the family of Alhaji Abubakar Gidado EL-Nafaty in Bauchi, Bauchi State. She is married to Senator Adamu Muhammad Bulkachuwa, who is representing Bauchi North Senatorial district at the National Assembly.
She began her Primary Education at Tudun Wada Primary School, Kaduna in 1957 before moving to Senior Primary School, Maiduguri road, Kaduna in 1961, where she acquired her First School Leaving Certificate in 1963. She later enrolled at Queen Elizabeth School, Ilorin where she obtained her West African School Certificate (WASC) in 1968.
Bulkachuwa proceeded to Abdullahi Bayero College/Ahmadu Bello University Kano between 1971 and 1972 for her GCE ‘A’ Levels and in 1975 she obtained her LL.B (Hons) from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. She attended the Nigerian Law School between 1975 and 1976.
She started her work career as a National Youth Service Corp member on primary assignment at the Ministry of Justice, Kaduna in 1976. She rose through the cadre to become a Chief Magistrate from 1985 to 1987. Her commitment to service led to her appointment as a High Court Judge in 1987.
At the creation of Gombe State she was deployed and sworn in as the Chief Judge of Gombe State Judiciary in 1997. Thereafter, she was appointed as Justice, Court of Appeal (JCA) in 1998. Honourable Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa became The President, Court of Appeal in April, 2014.
She has received a substantial number of awards, notable among which are two National Awards; OFR and CFR in 2008 and 2014 respectively. She is a member of numerous professional bodies and has served on various Judicial Committees. She has also attended workshops and seminars in Nigeria and overseas.
