Kano: Christian woman appointed Chief Judge

Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has appointed a Christian woman, Patricia Mahmoud, as the Acting Chief Judge of the state.

Patricia Mahmoud replaces Justice Shehu Atiku, who retired from judicial service. Justice Mahmoud is originally from Benue State but married to a Kano State indigene Mr. A. B. Mahmoud, SAN, a one-time Solicitor General and Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice of Kano state.

Justice Mahmoud has on two occasions been denied the opportunity to be the Chief Judge of Kano State because of her state of origin. Governor Kwankwaso who in a bold move appointed Patricia Mahmoud as the Chief Judge said that is in compliance with section 271 subsection 4 of the Nigerian Constitution, the most senior judge acts as Chief Judge pending the appointment of a substantive Chief Judge.

Patricia Mahmoud is from the Idoma tribe of Benue state and a judge of the Kano State High Court. She joined the state Ministry of Justice in 1983 where she rose to become a Director of the Drafting and Research department. In 1992, she was appointed to the bench.

She is a very active member of the Association of Women Judges in Nigeria and abroad and is the Kano State Coordinator for Women in Nigeria (WIN), a women's rights organization.