Nigeria has recorded a major diplomatic achievement following 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 United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, described Akande’s election as a significant milestone in the country’s quest for greater influence and representation within the UN system. He also congratulated President Bola Tinubu on the development.
In a statement shared by the Nigerian Mission to the United Nations, Ibrahim said Akande’s election marked an important step towards achieving Nigeria’s broader ambition of securing stronger representation in key UN institutions.
He noted that following the successful election of Akande to the world court, Nigeria’s remaining major diplomatic objective was to secure a seat on the United Nations Security Council.
According to Ibrahim, Nigeria’s continued campaign for a permanent seat on the Security Council remains central to its ambition of achieving what he described as a “100 per cent achievement” of its objectives within the United Nations.
Nigeria’s push for greater representation in the global body reflects its longstanding position that international institutions should better reflect Africa’s growing population, economic importance and contributions to international peace and security.
President Tinubu has repeatedly called for reforms to the United Nations Security Council, arguing that Africa deserves a stronger voice in global decision-making.
In August 2025, while addressing the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Japan, Tinubu called for at least two permanent seats for Africa on the UN Security Council, with full privileges, including veto powers for as long as the provision remains in place.
Similarly, at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Nigeria renewed its demand for at least two permanent Security Council seats for Africa, with veto powers, alongside five non-permanent seats for the continent.
Addressing delegates at the General Assembly, Tinubu argued that the existing global power structure was outdated and no longer reflected contemporary realities, declaring that the world of 2026 could not “remain captive to the distribution of power in 1945”.
