A Nigerian-trained legal scholar is set to take his place among the judges of the world’s highest court for disputes between nations, following the election of Professor Dapo Akande to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Prof. Akande’s election, secured through a United Kingdom nomination, gives Britain a judge on the United Nations court for the first time since 2017. For Nigeria, it brings international recognition to a legal career that began at the University of Ife and has since reached the highest levels of international law.
The Oxford professor will serve a nine-year term from February 2027 to 2036 as one of the ICJ’s 15 judges. The court’s work has become increasingly consequential, with its proceedings and opinions drawing international attention over disputes between states and the legal obligations of governments. Among its recent high-profile engagements are its opinions on Israel’s responsibilities towards the population of Gaza as an occupying power.
Prof. Akande’s professional record spans academia, legal practice and international dispute resolution. He holds the Chichele Professorship of Public International Law at the University of Oxford, is a Fellow of All Souls College and serves as an elected member of the United Nations International Law Commission. He has worked with governments and international organisations and appeared before international courts and tribunals, including the ICJ, as counsel, adviser and expert.
His route to the international bench began in Nigeria. Prof. Akande earned his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ife in 1992 and qualified as a barrister and solicitor in 1993. His subsequent work in legal scholarship and practice established him as one of the United Kingdom’s leading international lawyers.
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, welcomed the election and described it as another achievement for the country at the UN, saying Nigeria had one major objective left in what he called its 100 per cent UN ambition: membership of the United Nations Security Council.
The UK Lord Chancellor, Alex Norris, campaigned for Prof. Akande’s election, arguing that the court needed his independence, legal rigour, judgment and breadth of perspective at a time when international law was under pressure. Norris described him as a formidable addition to the bench.
He also restated Britain’s support for the ICJ, noting that the UK had accepted its compulsory jurisdiction and urging other states to consider accepting the court’s jurisdiction under its statute.
Prof. Akande said he was honoured by the election and grateful to the states that had supported him. He pledged to serve independently, decide cases through a faithful and impartial application of the law, and work with fellow judges to resolve disputes by peaceful means.
The appointment places Akande in a position to influence the interpretation and application of international law for years to come. His Nigerian legal education remains an important part of that story: a career shaped in Nigeria, advanced in Oxford and now extending to the United Nations’ principal judicial organ.
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