Nigeria’s Dr Chidinma Thompson has been appointed the first black Justice of The Kings Court of the Bench in Canada.
This was confirmed on Saturday in a post on X (formerly Twitter) by the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM).
The post said Dr Chidinma became the first black judge on Friday.
The post reads: “Yesterday, February 16, 2024, in Calgary, Canada, Nigeria made history again. Our own Dr. Mrs. Chidinma Thompson (@CbThompsonyyc), a Nigerian-born Canadian, became the first black Honorable Justice of the Kings Court of the Bench Canada.”
Thompson, a partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Calgary, was appointed a Justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta in Calgary to replace Justice C.M. Jones (Calgary), who was elected to become a supernumerary judge effective November 11, 2022.
Appointed along with Justice Thompson include Honourable Alice Woolley, a Justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta, appointed a Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of Alberta in Calgary; Honourable Kevin Feth, a Justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta, appointed a Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of Alberta in Edmonton; Ayla Akgungor, Partner at Field LLP in Edmonton, appointed a Justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta in Edmonton; Jonathan Martin, Chief Federal Prosecutor at the Public Prosecution Service of Canada in Edmonton, appointed a Justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta in Edmonton; and Darren Reed, Partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP in Calgary, appointed a Justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta in Calgary.
