{"id":8544,"date":"2026-11-04T07:45:57","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T07:45:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/04\/5-things-to-know-about-nigerian-professor-dapo-akande-elected-icj-judge\/"},"modified":"2026-11-04T07:45:57","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T07:45:57","slug":"5-things-to-know-about-nigerian-professor-dapo-akande-elected-icj-judge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/04\/5-things-to-know-about-nigerian-professor-dapo-akande-elected-icj-judge\/","title":{"rendered":"5 things to know about Nigerian professor Dapo Akande elected ICJ judge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dapo<\/p>\n

Nigerian-born legal scholar Professor Dapo Akande has been elected as a judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), marking a significant milestone in his career and a diplomatic victory for the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

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Dapo Akande, who originally qualified as a lawyer in Nigeria, will serve a minimum nine-year term as one of the 15 judges of the United Nations\u2019 principal judicial organ.<\/p>\n

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His election comes at a time when international law is facing increasing scrutiny, with the ICJ playing a prominent role in resolving disputes between countries and addressing major international legal questions.<\/p>\n

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Akande is an internationally recognised expert in public international law and has advised and represented parties in cases before international courts and tribunals, including the ICJ.<\/p>\n

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Following his election, he expressed gratitude to the countries that supported his candidacy, pledging to discharge his responsibilities independently and impartially.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI am deeply honoured to be elected to the international court of justice.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI am incredibly grateful to all the states that have put their faith in me. I pledge to serve with independence and to deciding cases on the basis of a faithful and impartial application of the law. I look forward to contributing to the ICJ\u2019s vital work in helping to resolve disputes by peaceful means, alongside the other colleagues elected today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Here are five things to know about the Nigerian-born professor and his new international judicial role.<\/p>\n

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1. He originally qualified as a lawyer in Nigeria<\/h2>\n

Akande began his legal career in Nigeria, where he obtained his initial professional qualification as a lawyer before building an international reputation in public international law.<\/p>\n

His Nigerian legal background has remained an important part of his professional journey, which has taken him to some of the most prestigious legal and academic institutions in the world.<\/p>\n

2. He is a professor at the University of Oxford<\/h2>\n

Akande is a professor of public international law at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

He is also a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, one of the university\u2019s prestigious academic institutions.<\/p>\n

Through his academic work, he has contributed to the study and development of international law, particularly the legal principles governing relations between countries.<\/p>\n

3. He is a member of the UN International Law Commission<\/h2>\n

Beyond his academic career, Akande is an elected member of the United Nations International Law Commission (ILC).<\/p>\n

The commission is responsible for promoting the progressive development and codification of international law.<\/p>\n

His membership reflects his standing as an international legal expert and his involvement in shaping discussions around the rules governing relations between states.<\/p>\n

4. He has represented parties before international courts<\/h2>\n

Akande has extensive experience advising and representing parties in disputes before international courts and tribunals.<\/p>\n

He has served as counsel, adviser and expert in several international legal proceedings, including cases before the International Court of Justice.<\/p>\n

His professional experience in international litigation is expected to contribute to his responsibilities as a member of the world\u2019s principal judicial body.<\/p>\n

5. His election marks a major diplomatic victory for the UK<\/h2>\n

Akande\u2019s election is also significant for the United Kingdom, which had been without a judge on the ICJ since 2017.<\/p>\n

That year, British judge Sir Christopher Greenwood unexpectedly lost his bid for re-election to an Indian rival, marking the first time in the court\u2019s 71-year history that Britain had no representative among its judges.<\/p>\n

Akande\u2019s election restores British representation on the 15-member court and is considered an important diplomatic achievement for the country.<\/p>\n

UK Lord Chancellor Alex Norris actively campaigned for his election, describing him as a candidate with the independence, legal rigour, judgment and breadth of perspective required by the court.<\/p>\n

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Vanguard News<\/a><\/p>\n

The post 5 things to know about Nigerian professor Dapo Akande elected ICJ judge<\/a> appeared first on Vanguard News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source: <\/p>\n

Vanguard News<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nigerian-born legal scholar Professor Dapo Akande has been elected as a judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), marking a significant milestone in his career and a diplomatic victory… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8545,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8544\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}