On returning to Nigeria, she worked as a welfare officer in the Lagos judiciary.
[1][2] There she initiated the creation of a juvenile court and caused the establishment of a number of girls clubs in Lagos,[3] as well as assisting in the formation of the Lagos branch of the British Leprosy Relief Association.
Thereafter, she set up a law practice with Miss Gloria Rhodes and worked in the chambers of John Idowu Conrad Taylor.
She briefly left law to work as a Social Welfare Officer, becoming the first African woman to hold the position in Nigeria.
[3] In 1961, Mobil won a concession for oil exploration in Nigeria, and Alakija later became a director in this new venture.