Fatima Alkali rejects appointment as senate confirms law reform commission nominees

The senate has confirmed nominees for the Nigerian Law Reform Commission (NLRC).

President Bola Tinubu nominated Dakas Dakas as chairman, Uchenna Okolocha and Fatima Alkali as commissioners of the NLRC in June 2025.

But presenting a report of the senate committee on judiciary, human rights and legal matters, Adeniyi Adegbonmire, chairman of the panel, said Alkali turned down the appointment.

He told lawmakers on Tuesday that Alkali, a professor who was nominated to represent the north-east, communicated her rejection of the offer to the presidency.

“The committee requested for, and received the curriculum vitae and other supporting documents of the nominees and invited them to appear before it for a screening exercise,” he said.

“On Wednesday, 25th June 2025, two of the nominees appeared before the committee. The third one, Professor Fatima Alkali, turned down the appointment.”

Adegbonmire said the committee recommended that Alkali is replaced with another female nominee from the north-east region for “gender fairness”.

The committee chairman, however, said the remaining two nominees — Dakas, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), from the north-central, and Okolocha from the south-south — are “fit and proper persons to assume the positions”.

“The nominees possess the requiste qualifications, leadership qualities and comportment to discharge the statutory duties and functions of the offices of chairman and commissioner of the commissioner,” he added.

“The committee is satisfied about their qualifications, experience, suitability, competence and integrity to assume the position of the chairman and full-time commissioner of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission.

He also said no petition or adverse reports was received against the nominees.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio then put the question to a voice vote, and the nominees were confirmed.