Nigeria has recorded a major diplomatic milestone with the election of Nigerian-British legal scholar, Professor Dapo Akande, as a judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jimoh Ibrahim, described Akande’s election as a significant step towards the country’s quest for greater representation and influence within the global organisation.
Ibrahim also congratulated President Bola Tinubu on the development.
In a message shared by Nigeria’s Mission to the United Nations, the ambassador said the election advanced Nigeria’s ambition of securing full representation in key organs of the UN.
He noted that with Akande’s emergence at the world court, Nigeria’s remaining major diplomatic objective was to secure membership of the United Nations Security Council.
Ibrahim said the country’s campaign for a permanent seat on the Security Council remained central to its ambition of achieving what he described as “100 per cent achievement” of its UN objectives.
Nigeria’s push for greater representation at the international organisation is rooted in its position that global institutions should reflect Africa’s growing population, influence and contributions to international peace and security.
President Tinubu has repeatedly called for reforms to give the continent a stronger voice in global decision-making.
At the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Japan in August 2025, Tinubu argued that Africa deserved at least two permanent seats on the UN Security Council, with full privileges, including veto powers for as long as the provision remains in place.
At the 81st UN General Assembly, Nigeria also demanded at least two permanent seats for Africa with veto powers, alongside five non-permanent seats for the continent.
Tinubu told delegates that the world in 2026 could no longer “remain captive to the distribution of power in 1945”.
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