House of Representatives has officially endorsed Professor Dapo Akande, a Nigerian-born UK candidate, for a seat on the International Court of Justice for the 2027–2036 term. The endorsement was announced on Wednesday by Deputy Speaker Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu during a courtesy visit by Akande and British High Commission officials at the National Assembly in Abuja.
Kalu said it was an honor to receive Akande and declared that, as a Nigerian and parliamentarian, his candidacy commands the admiration and personal support of the House. He emphasized that this is more than symbolic recognition for Nigeria.
The Deputy Speaker described the UK’s nomination of Akande as “structural recognition of a shared legal destiny.” He noted the UK’s £135 million bilateral support commitment to Nigeria for 2025–2026 and the November 2024 Strategic Partnership between both nations, arguing that Africa’s presence at the ICJ is a matter of justice, not sentiment. 
Kalu, who holds a doctorate in law, framed the visit as a meeting between “the legislative and the adjudicative” worlds. He traced Akande’s roots back to Nigeria, where his journey began with an LLB from Obafemi Awolowo University and a call to the Nigerian Bar in Ibadan.
He highlighted Akande’s global credentials: Chichele Professor of Public International Law at Oxford’s All Souls College, counsel before the ICJ and ITLOS, member of the UN International Law Commission, and co-author of Oppenheim’s International Law, which won an ASIL Certificate of Merit. Kalu said the House receives him proudly as “a son of the soil.”
The Deputy Speaker also connected Akande’s candidacy to the Nigerian diaspora. Citing UK Census and ONS data, he noted over 270,000 Nigerian-born residents in the UK and Nigeria ranking as Britain’s second-largest source of long-term migrants in 2024. He said Akande’s run shows that “excellence forged in Nigeria travels.”
Kalu commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for strengthening diplomatic ties and making institutional reform a cornerstone. He urged Nigeria’s government to deploy its bilateral ties, AU standing, ECOWAS leadership, and UN General Assembly voice to secure Akande’s election, noting Nigeria’s proud history at the ICJ must continue.
Turning to global challenges, Kalu warned that the ICJ faces its fullest docket ever, with Chatham House research showing a fifth of all cases filed in the last four years. Most relate to genocide, armed conflict, and occupation, yet enforcement gaps hit Africa hardest. He said West Africa is in one of its most destabilizing decades since independence.
He charged Akande that “Africa does not merely need judges. It needs judges who understand that law is not description. It is protection.” Kalu argued double standards weaken treaties and multilateralism. He said Akande’s experience arguing for Nigeria, Uganda, UK, Japan, Equatorial Guinea, Zambia, plus advising AU, UN, Council of Europe, and ASEAN, gives him “convergence of legitimacy.”
In his remarks, Akande thanked Nigeria for its commitment to the rule of law and the parliament’s constitutional work. He said he came to seek Nigeria’s support and assured that if elected, he would work to deepen the rule of law globally, just as Nigeria strengthens it nationally.
