Abdulkarim Abubakar Kana
Abdulkarim Abubakar Kana | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 19, 1974 Kokona, Nasarawa State, Nigeria |
| Occupation(s) | Professor of Law, Attorney General, Commissioner for Justice |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Known for | Dean of Faculty of Law at Nasarawa State University Keffi; Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Nasarawa State; founder of Kana & Co law firm |
Abdulkarim Abubakar Kana is a distinguished Nigerian Professor specializing in Law at Nasarawa State University Keffi, where he formerly held the position of dean within the Faculty of Law. Presently, he occupies the office of Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Nasarawa State. Kana is also an active member of the Nigerian Bar Association and established the Kana & Co law firm.
Early life and education
Born on 19 October 1974 in Kokona, Nasarawa State, Kana began his education at Township Primary School in Jos, completing it in 1986. He proceeded to finish his secondary studies at Federal Government College, Jos in 1992. He obtained his LL.B (Hons) from the University of Jos in 1999, followed by his call to the Nigerian Bar in 2001 after attending the Nigerian Law School. Furthering his academic credentials, Kana earned an LL.M and an M.Phil. from the University of Jos in 2004 and 2011, respectively. In 2012, he achieved a Ph.D. from the American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL), where he also completed certifications in Anti-Corruption and Human Rights (2015) and Arbitration (2017).
Legal and academic career
Abdulkarim Kana commenced his professional journey as a Junior Counsel with Solomon Umoh and Co law firm in Jos early in 2001. During his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), he functioned as a Legal Officer/In-house Solicitor at Lion Bank Plc, Jos. In 2002, he joined Nasarawa State University, Keffi as an Assistant Lecturer in law, ascending through academic ranks: Lecturer II in 2004, Lecturer I by 2006, Senior Lecturer in 2009, Associate Professor in 2015, culminating in full Professorship awarded in 2020.
Administrative career
Within Nasarawa State University’s Faculty of Law, Kana undertook multiple leadership roles including Level Coordinator (2004), Acting Head of Civil Law Department (2005), Deputy Dean (2009), and ultimately Dean of Law starting in 2014. The Chief Justice of Nigeria appointed him as a Notary Public in 2012. He served as Vice Chairman for the Nigeria Bar Association’s Keffi Chapter in 2014 and was elected President of the Nigerian Association of Law Teachers (NALT) in 2016. Transitioning into governmental service, Kana was Honourable Commissioner for Water Resources and Rural Development beginning in 2017 before his appointment as Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Nasarawa State in 2019.
Membership and fellowship
Kana holds memberships with prominent legal bodies such as the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian Association of Law Teachers (NALT), International Bar Association (IBA), Global Aid for Justice Education (GAJE), International Association of Legal Ethics (IALE), Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), and International Association of Law Schools (IALS).
Areas of specialization
His professional focus includes Economic and Financial Crimes Law, International Law and Securities, along with Penal and Substantive Legal Provisions.
Selected publications
- Kana, A. A.. (2000). Curbing Corruption in a Democracy: A Long term Legal and Extra-Legal Recipe For Nigeria.
- Kana, A. A.. (2021). Vertical Power Sharing in Nigeria's Federal System: Issues, Challenges and Prospects. IRLJ, 3, 38.
- Kana, A. A.. (2018). Corruption, misuse of state resources, compliance and ethics: is the law retreating?. Journal of Corporate and Commercial Law and Practice, 4(1), 47–81.
- Okebukola, E. O., & Kana, A. A.. (2012). Executive orders in Nigeria as valid legislative instruments and administrative tools. Nnamdi Azikiwe University Journal of International Law and Jurisprudence, 3, 59–68.
- Sani, Adams, Ibegbu Nnamdi, Abdulkarim Abubakar Kana, Funsho M. Femi, Anthong Asemhokhai Anegbe, I. Omachi Ali, Shoyele Olugbenga, and Christopher Obialo Muo. "The Advocate: A Journal of Contemporary Legal Issues" (2000).