The Chief Justice of Nigeria CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun has given the assurance that the nation’s judiciary will soon overcome the challenges confronting it in objective justice delivery in the country.
Justice Kekere-Ekun, gave the assurances on Wednesday, May 14th, at a valedictory Court Session in honour of the late Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Emmanuel Obioma Ogwuegbu, who died on October 28th, 2024 at the age of 91.
Said stated that the leadership of the nation’s judiciary is working hard to make necessary changes and correct the ills plaguing the judiciary.
According to her, the challenges facing the judicial sector include delays in justice delivery, dwindling public confidence and resource constraints under her watch, which she stated, are surmountable.
She noted that the late Justice Ogwuegbu’s life offers a blueprint for renewal, integrity, service, learning and courage, adding that the late Justice’s life enriched the Nigerian jurisprudence with experience, compassion and wisdom.
The CJN also said that the contributions of late Justice Ogwuegbu will continue to illuminate the courts, adding that his legacies will continue to remain embedded in the moral and legal consciousness of the nation.
She said: “Throughout his illustrious judicial career, he brought to bear a rare combination of erudition, clarity and compassion.
“He was a jurist who wrote with precision, reasoned with rigour and adjudicated with fairness.
“As a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, His Lordship contributed significantly to the shaping of our modern legal landscape.
“His Lordship’s deep insight and fearless reasoning were particularly evident in cases that advanced constitutional governance, individual liberties and the devolution of powers”.
The CJN also said that the late Justice Ogwuegbu was not just a judge, but a torchbearer of justice whose career spanned more than four decades of unwavering dedication to the bench.
“His Lordship’s life’s work was defined by a fierce loyalty to the Constitution, an abiding respect for the rule of law, and an unshakeable belief in the power of justice to uphold society’s most sacred values.
“Throughout his illustrious judicial career, he brought to bear a rare combination of erudition, clarity, and compassion.
“He was a jurist who wrote with precision, reasoned with rigour, and adjudicated with fairness.
“His judgments did not merely resolve disputes—they elevated our jurisprudence, speaking to the conscience of a nation and strengthening the pillars upon which our democracy rests.
“He was a Judge of great dignity, humility, and empathy—qualities that humanised the law and brought, comfort to those who sought justice.
“He listened intently, decided fairly, and treated all who came before him with respect and decency,” Justice Kekere-Ekun said.
In his own tribute, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, stressed the need for Judges to administer justice without fear or favour.
While paying tribute to the late Justice Ogwuegbu, the AGF charged Judicial officers to live up to expectation.
In his tribute, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, said a true measure of a judge is not in the length of tenure or the number of cases adjudicated upon, but in the depth of impact and integrity of such decisions.
Osigwe noted that Justice Ogwuegbu was a judicial titan, who rendered Nigeria’s laws in clearer precision, made the institutions stronger and the nation’s democracy more stable.
Mazi Osigwe stated that, “in an age where judicial courage is often tempered by politics or public pressure, His Lordship exemplified a rare independence of thought, tempered only by the boundaries of justice and the letter of the law”.
