Dahiru Musdapher

Dahiru Babura Musdapher (15 July 1942 – 22 January 2018) was a Nigerian jurist who served as the chief justice of Nigeria from 2011 to 2012.

Musdapher was born on 15 July 1942 to a family of Kanuri scholars in Babura, present-day Jigawa State, Nigeria.

Musdapher's father was Mallam Babura Musdapher a cleric and Islamic scholar who was a principal advisor to colonial district head in the Kano Native Authority before being a district head of Babura local government area in Kano State.

Born in a polygamous family of 25 children, Musdapher was the first son of his father and only son of his mother and served as the head of his family after the demise of his father.

In 1949, when Musdapher was due to learn Islamic teachings in Sudan and Egypt, his aunt opposed citing his age as a barrier for long distance travels.

In 1950, through Mohammed Ibrahim who was the then head-boy, Musdapher was admitted to Babura Elementary School which he left in 1953 and proceeded to Birnin Kudu Middle School in 1954 and graduated in 1956 with a First School Leaving Certificate.

He moved to Rumfa College, Kano for secondary education in 1957 and graduated in 1962 with a West African School Certificate.

In 1963, he was admitted into the Institute of Administration (now Ahmadu Bello University), Zaria where he got a Bar Part 1 in 1964 and proceeded to the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies from 1964 to 1967.

Musdapher worked briefly at the Northern Regional Ministry of Finance as a clerical officer in 1963 before proceeding to the university.

After returning to Nigeria, he enrolled at the Nigerian Law School in 1967 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1968.

While a student at the School of Oriental and African Studies, he enrolled at the Inns of Court, Middle Temple and was called to the English Bar in 1967.

As a student, Musdapher was a regular contributor or discussant in the West African and Hausa services of the BBC.

After being called to the Nigerian Bar in 1968, Musdapher together with Kaloma Ali practiced privately until the reform of local government councils in 1969 which saw the appointment of Musdapher as the secretary of the Kano Emirate Council and a councilor of Kano Native Authority.

In 1972, he was made the director of Kano Co-operative Bank and a member of the board of the National Electric Power Authority in 1974.

He served as the attorney-general and commissioner of justice of Kaduna State from 1976 to 1979, and as the chief judge of Kano State from 1979 to 1985.

In 1976, Musdapher was made a member of the Body of Benchers.

He was also a joint editor of the Law Report of Northern Nigeria from 1976 to 1979.

In 1976 through a nomination from Umaru Abdullahi, Musdapher was persuaded by Sani Abacha and Ibrahim Babangida to accept the position of the Attorney-General of Kaduna State.

In this position, he served until three military governors: Usman Jibrin, Muktar Muhammed and Ibrahim Alfa from 1976 to 1979.

From 1979 to 1985, Musdapher was the chief judge of the High Court of Kano State succeeding C. I. Jones and thus becoming the first indigenous judge of the court.

Musdapher was a justice of the Nigerian Court of Appeal from 1985 to 2003 and of the Nigerian Supreme Court from 2003 to 2012.

He was elevated to the position of a Justice of the Nigerian Court of Appeal in 1985.

He was promoted to the Nigerian Supreme Court in 2003 and following the retirement of Aloysius Iyorgyer Katsina-Alu, the-then President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Musdapher as the 12th Chief Justice of Nigeria in 2011, a position he held until his retirement in 2012.

Musdapher was a recipient of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) in 2003 and Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) in 2010.

Musdapher was married to Haijyya Sabwa Dahiru Musdapher (née Suleiman Galadima) and both has three children.

Musdapher was fluent in Arabic and performed Hajj as a Muslim.

Musdapher died on 22 January 2018 in a hospital in London.