The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, on Tuesday, eulogised late Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Chima Centus Nweze, on his dedication to enthronement of rule by high quality justice supply.
Justice Nwexe died on Saturday, July 29, 2023, at the age of 64.
The CJN mentioned the late jurist “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.”
Speaking in Abuja at a valedictory courtroom session in honour of late Nweze, the CJN mentioned the late justice was a really distinctive and nationalistic persona with a radical posture of justice and rule of regulation, including that, regardless that he regarded easy 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”.
He famous that the complete lifetime of the late Justice Nweze was fully devoid of duplicity, undue vanity, and elitism, as some folks usually manifest as soon as fortune smiles on them and they’re elevated to positions of affect and affluence.
He mentioned although Justice Nweze was a dogged fighter for no matter trigger he believed in, he was an astute advocate of the humanities 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, the place he studied and graduated with a Degree in Law in 1983.
In direct response to Justice Nweze’s dedication to obligation and immense adjudicatory prowess, he was elevated to the Court of Appeal Bench on February 15, 2008, the place he served till 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 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 judgements 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 said.
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), in his speech mentioned the Supreme Court of Nigeria is overwhelmed with workload of circumstances.
Represented by the Solicitor General of the Federal and Permanent Secretary within the Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Beatrice Jeddy-Agba, the AGF mentioned the Supreme Court of Nigeria is without doubt one of the most overworked courts on the planet.
He mentioned Justice Nweze’s life will proceed to shine for example to all, including that, the late Justice contributed immensely to the event of the nation’s judiciary.
The Body of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (BOSAN) represented by Damion Dodo (SAN), mentioned the late Nweze distinguished himself on the Bench and had delivered qualitative judgments throughout his keep on the Supreme Court Bench.
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), in his speech mentioned late Nweze made “significant contributions to the growth of our jurisprudence”.
