Idris Legbo Kutigi
Nigerian judge
Idris Legbo Kutigi (31 December 1939 – 21 October 2018) was a Nigerian lawyer and jurist. He was Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Niger State before becoming a high court judge. He joined the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1992 and served as Chief Justice from 30 January 2007 to 30 December 2009.
Early life and education
Born in Kutigi, North-Western State (now located in the Lavun Local Government Area of Niger State), Kutigi attended elementary school in that town and middle and secondary school in Bida. He then moved on to Government College (now known as Barewa College), and then to Ahmadu Bello University (both in Zaria, Kaduna State). He left the country for England, where he studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and Gibson and Weldon, before returning to attend the Nigerian Law School in Lagos, Lagos State. He was called to the bar in approximately 1964.
Career
Kutigi was the Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary, North-Western State in 1976 and later became the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Niger State as well as the Director of public Prosecution, three positions he held concurrently between 1976- 1977 before becoming a high court judge. He was elevated to the Supreme Court in 1992 and was later appointed in 2002 by President Olusegun Obasanjo as the Chief Justice of Nigeria to succeed the outgoing Salihu Alfa Belgore. Belgore retired on 17 January 2002 and Kutigi succeeded him on 30 January 2002, after being confirmed by the Senate.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5989684. VIAF identifies the subject as 121071732. The Library of Congress control number is n2010030679. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1939, 2018, 1992 and 2007.
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