[4] Kutigi was the Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary, North-Western State in 1976 and later became the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Niger State as well as the Director of public Prosecution, three positions he held concurrently between 1976- 1977[5] before becoming a high court judge.
He was elevated to the Supreme Court in 1992 and was later appointed in 2002 by President Olusegun Obasanjo as the Chief Justice of Nigeria to succeed the outgoing Salihu Alfa Belgore.
[11][12] His appointment was widely welcomed by those on all sides of the Nigerian political spectrum with praise coming for his impartiality and fair handedness.
[4] On 12 June 2014 he stepped in to separate northern and southern politicians who almost came to blows during a conference meeting over a disagreement on holding a one minute silence to honour those that died during the 1993 presidential election.
[13] Kutigi later described the conference as the "most arduous" to have been held in Nigeria's history due to the short length of time, four and a half months, that had been allowed for it.