CJN to Judges: Be Mindful of Your Conduct While Alive

As justices, lawyers and critical stakeholders in the justice sector eulogize late Justice Chima Nweze, a former Justice of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, has harped on the need for judicial officers to be mindful of their conduct while alive because it will surely speak for them when they are dead.

Ariwoola, who gave the charge on Tuesday during a valedictory court session held in honour of the late jurist, stressed that death is a necessary end and will come at the appointed time.

“There is no rehearsal, there is no practice on how and when to die. We die once and that ends the sojourn here on earth. No one can spend a moment longer than the time permitted by the Almighty God.

“That is the more reason why we should always be very mindful of the fact that there is a tide in the affairs of men. The works of our hands shall testify on our behalf when we are gone,” he said.

Nweze died on July 29, 2023, at the age of 64 years, shortly after a short ailment.

He was six years short of the 70 years retirement age for justices of the superior court.

Meanwhile, Ariwoola who was full of praise for the late jurist, disclosed that Nweze “was one of those cerebrally mobile judicial officers in our contemporary history who had latched on our memory an enviable degree of intellectual eminence and legal finesse that encompassed all spheres of philosophy and methodical reasoning”.

Besides, he said late Nweze was a very unique and nationalistic personality with a radical posture of justice and rule of law, adding that even though he looked simple and unassuming, the late justice was very strict and consciously principled in disposition.

“He was always very warm and engaging. Like all great men, my Lord was a man of paradox; simple without being simplistic in disposition; elitist and dignified in carriage, yet he related exceptionally well with everyone around him, especially the underprivileged and the downtrodden in the society,” the CJN said.

He noted that the entire life of late Justice Nweze was completely devoid of duplicity, undue arrogance and elitism; as some people often manifest once fortune smiles on them and they are elevated to positions of influence and affluence.

He said even though Justice Nweze was a dogged fighter for whatever cause he believed in, he was an astute advocate of the arts of mediation and reconciliation.

Justice Nweze, who was born on September 25, 1958 in Obollo, Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State, gained admission into University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC) in 1979 where he studied and graduated with a degree in Law in 1983.

In direct response to Justice Nweze’s commitment to duty and immense adjudicatory prowess, he was elevated to the Court of Appeal Bench on February 15, 2008; where he served until October 29, 2014 when fortune reciprocally shone on him with a well-deserved elevation to the Supreme Court Bench.

“At the Supreme Court, my Lord, Hon. Justice C.C. Nweze exhibited immense scholarship and rare jurisprudential candour. All his judgments were laced with academic flavour and intellectual steam. His judicial pronouncements were like ocean waves that move with vigour and vibrancy.

“His judgments covered a gamut of issues that have offered us sufficient food for thought; not just as judicial officers and lawyers but as citizens of the global village that are desirous of having a free, peaceful and egalitarian society.

“His intellectual accomplishments have, to a large extent, crystallized the legal profession by injecting confidence in the minds of both practitioners, law students and the common man on the street. His astuteness and eloquence in the courtroom, coupled with the seamless application of legal wisdom to every matter made him an enigma of some sort,” the CJN stated.

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), in his speech observed that the apex court is overwhelmed with workload of cases, making it one of the overworked court in the world.

Fagbemi, who was represented by the Solicitor General of the Federal and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Beatrice Jeddy-Agba, stated that Justice Nweze’s life will continue to shine as an example to all.

Besides, he said that the late justice contributed immensely to the development of the nation’s judiciary.

The Body of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (BOSAN) represented by Mr. Damion Dodo (SAN) said the late Nweze distinguished himself on the Bench and had delivered qualitative judgments during his stay on the Supreme Court Bench.

The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), in his speech, said late Nweze made “significant contribution to the growth of our jurisprudence”.