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The Management of Realnews Magazine and Publications Limited, publishers of Realnews Magazine Online, has announced that Honourable Justice Ayotunde Phillips, former Chief Judge of Lagos State, will chair the Realnews 13th Anniversary Lecture.
The lecture, themed “Cybersecurity, Illicit Financial Flows and Achieving Agenda 2063 in Africa,” will hold on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at Radisson Blu Hotel, Isaac John Street, Ikeja GRA, Lagos, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
This was made known in a statement signed and sent to Daily Sun by the Publisher and Editor of Realnews Magazine Online, Maureen Chigbo on Tuesday.
Justice Phillips, who also served as Chairman of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), confirmed her acceptance to chair the event in a message to Realnews dated September 22, 2025, stating:
Q “It is my honour to chair such a distinguished event.”
Her Ladyship will also moderate the panel session during the lecture.
Justice Phillips has had a distinguished career spanning 38 years in the Lagos State Judiciary, 20 of which were spent on the High Court Bench. She held several key positions, including Chairman, Panel of Inquiry into the Sale of Lagos State Government Shares in Eko Hotels Ltd (1999); Member, Advisory Committee of the Nigeria Rule of Law Assistance Project (USAID/National Center for State Courts, Washington DC, 2000–2004); and Member, Election Petitions Tribunals in Rivers and Adamawa States.
She also served as Probate Judge (2001–2004), Administrative Judge, Ikeja Judicial Division (2009–2010), and Chairman, Welfare Committee of the Lagos State High Court (2004–2009). She became the 14th Chief Judge of Lagos State and the 4th female to hold the position on June 14, 2012, before retiring in 2014 upon attaining the statutory age of 65.
Beyond her judicial accomplishments, Justice Phillips has been actively involved in various professional and social organizations. She is a member of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ), Nigerian Association of Women Judges (NAWJN), World Jurist Association (WJA), and Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association (CMJA).
She also serves as the Deputy Chancellor of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Diocese of Lagos West, and holds memberships in the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), the Nigerian Institute of Arbitrators (Fellow), and the Lagos Court of Arbitration Board of Directors. In 2016, she was appointed Chairman of LASIEC, a position she held until 2021, and in May 2017, she was elected to the FIFA Ethics Committee (Adjudicatory Chamber), where she currently serves her third four-year term.
Born on July 26, 1949, in London, United Kingdom, Justice Phillips (née Williams) hails from a family of distinguished jurists — her late father, Justice James Oladipo Williams, was a High Court Judge, making her a second-generation judge.
Justice Phillips is known for her love of music, reading, cooking, technology, and travel.
