On Monday, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola was sworn in as acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) by President Muhammadu Buhari.

On Monday, Supreme Court Justice Ariwoola took the oath of office to become acting CJN.

Justice Ariwoola took the oath of office during a ceremony held in the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the capital of the country.

The outgoing CJN, Justice Tanko Muhammad, is replaced by Ariwoola, 62, who will likely serve in an acting capacity until being confirmed by the National Judicial Council (NJC).

During the judicial oath, he promised to uphold and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to be honest with the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Things to know about the interim CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola:

On August 22, 1958, Justice Ariwoola was born.
He is an Iseyin, Oyo State native.
He began his schooling at the Local Authority Demonstration School in Oluwole, Iseyin Local Government Area, Oyo State, where he completed his elementary education in 1967.
Between 1968 to 1969, he attended the Muslim Modern School in the same city before moving on to Ansar-Ud-Deen High School, Saki, in Oyo-North of Oyo State.
Ariwoola earned his Bachelor of Law degree with Honors in July 1980 from the University of Ife, Ile Ife (now known as Obafemi Awolowo University).
Justice Ariwoola was admitted to the bar in July 1981 and shortly thereafter enrolled as a solicitor and advocate with the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Up until 1988, when he voluntarily left the official bar of the State Civil Service for private practice, he served as a State Counsel for the National Youth Service Corps in the Ministry of Justice in Akure, Ondo State, and afterwards as a Legal Officer in the Ministry of Justice of Oyo State.
Between October 1988 and July 1989, he served as Chief Ladosu Ladapo, SAN’s Counsel-in-Chambers. In August 1989, he founded Olukayode Ariwoola & Co., a firm of legal practitioners and consultants in Oyo town.
On November 2, 1992, he was sworn in as a judge of the High Court and appointed as a judge of the Oyo State Judiciary.
From 1988 until 1992, he served as chairman of the board of directors for Phonex Motors Ltd., a company that is a part of the Oodua Investment conglomerate.
Justice Olukayode Ariwoola presided over the Armed Robbery Tribunal in Oyo State from May 1993 to September 1996, when he was transferred from the Ibadan headquarters to Saki High Court.
He served on the Zamfara and Enugu State Election Tribunals in 1999, as well as the Port-Harcourt, Enugu, Benin, Yola, and Ilorin Election Appeal Courts at various points.
On November 22, 2005, he took the oath of office to become a judge on the Court of Appeals.
On November 22, 2011, he took the oath of office to become a Justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court.
On Monday, June 27, 2022, President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) swore Justice Ariwoola in as Nigeria’s interim Chief Justice.