Auxiliary Bishop of Abuja Archdiocese, His Lordship Dr Anselm Umoren, led other priests to a requiem Mass to bid Justice Nweze farewell from Abuja.
By Jeffrey Agbo
The body of Justice Chima Nweze of the Supreme Court formally left the apex Court on Tuesday, October 10, 2023 en route Obollo, Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Justice Nweze, aged 64, died in Abuja on July 29, after a brief illness.
He was elevated as a Supreme Court justice on October 29, 2014, from the Appeal Court.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, along with his colleagues in the Apex bench paid glowing tribute to Justice Nweze whom they agreed on Tuesday, was a quintessential justice whose commitment to enthronement of rule through quality justice delivery was outstanding.
The CJN said 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 court session in honour of the late Nweze, the CJN said the deceased was a very unique and nationalistic personality with a radical posture of justice and the 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,” he said.
The CJN, who was together with Justice Nweze from the Appeal Court to Supreme Court, noted that the entire life of the 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 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.
“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 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 who are desirous of having a free, peaceful, and egalitarian society,” he said.
According to the CJN, “His intellectual accomplishments have, to a large extent, crystallized the legal profession by injecting confidence in the minds of 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.”
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Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), in his speech, said the Supreme Court of Nigeria is overwhelmed with the workload of cases.
Represented by the Solicitor General of the Federal and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Beatrice Jeddy-Agba, the AGF said the Supreme Court of Nigeria is one of the most overworked courts in the world.
He said Justice Nweze’s life would continue to shine as an example to all, adding that, the late Justice contributed immensely to the development of the nation’s judiciary.
The Body of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (BOSAN), represented by Damion Dodo (SAN), said the late Nweze distinguished himself on the Bench and delivered qualitative judgments during his stay on the Supreme Court Bench.
President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), in his speech, said the late Nweze made “significant contributions to the growth of our jurisprudence”.
Then at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Maitama, where Justice Nweze worshipped, the Auxiliary Bishop of Abuja Archdiocese, His Lordship Dr Anselm Umoren led other priests to a requiem Mass to bid Justice Nweze farewell from Abuja.
The Homilist at the well-attended Church service, Rev Fr Emeka Ngwoke of the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka eulogised the quality of life lived by Justice Nweze. He said that it’s not necessarily how long one stays on this earth that matters but his contributions to society.
Fr Ngwoke noted that the moment you are born, you can die, pointing out that your impact in the short period is what matters. He noted that Jesus Christ lived a short life on earth and died over 2000 years ago but his impact continues to be felt.
He noted that from records of Justice Nweze by various groups including his colleague’s justices, he left behind enviable records to keep him in the minds of the people, if you cannot remember Justice Nweze through his judgments or his books, you will remember him through his charity to humanity.
Roll calls of those who graced the two farewell activities on Tuesday in Abuja in Court of Law and House of God are inexhaustible, All the Serving Justices of the Apex Court led by the CJN, Justice Ariwoola, President of the Court of Appeal, some serving and retired Appeal Court Justices. Former CJN Walter Onnoghen, former Supreme Court Justice Mary Odili, Senior Advocates of Nigeria SAN in their numbers, Judges of various High Courts. The Chief Judge of Enugu state. Deputy Inspector General of Police Frank Mbah.
In the political sector, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, the former Senate President, Anyim Pius, the former governor of Enugu State, Okwesilieze Nwodo; Deputy Governor of Enugu state, Ifeanyi Ossai, Labour Party Gubernatorial candidate for Enugu, Chijoke Edeoga, Senator Okey Ezea of Enugu North. Current and former Senators and House of Representatives.
The Abuja ceremony was packaged by friends of Justice Nweze in Abuja under the chairmanship of Bona Ugwuja. The family of the Nwezes is led by Justice Nweze’s junior brother Prof Austin Nweze, Rector of the Institute of Management and Technology, IMT, Enugu, Justice Nweze’s wife Justice Jacinta Nweze, and the children among others.