By Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja
In the year 2018, the popular United States of America (USA) singer Beyoncé Knowles sang a song entitled “IRREPLACEABLE.”
The chorus of that song goes thus:
“You must not know about me
You must not know ’bout me
I could have another you in a minute,
Matter fact, he’ll be here in a minute, baby
You must not know ’bout me
You must not know ’bout me
I could have another you by tomorrow
So don’t you ever for a second get to thinkin’
Your irreplaceable”.
That song was a bad market for men!!!
The year 2018 witnessed the highest number of break-ups of relationships because of that song.
At the slightest provocation, ladies were quick to quote the lyrics of Beyonce’s song entitled IRREPLACEABLE.
” I can have another you in a minute” became the break-up anthem!!!
Unlike the men that Beyonce and millions of her fans have jilted, some men are IRREPLACEABLE!!!
Men like the late Hon. Justice Lawal Uwais, JSC.
Although he delivered many judgments, I will focus on the judgments that are UNPRECEDENTED AND IRREPLACEABLE!!!
In no particular order, the five (5) cases are as follows:
- Alegbe v. Oloyo (1983) Vol. 14, N.S.C.C. page 315. This year makes it 42 years since this judgment was delivered. And ever since then in the history of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, no judge has been courageous enough to deliver a similar judgment!!!. In a nutshell, the Supreme Court of Nigeria as per Uwais, JSC held that the then Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1979 authorises the Speaker to declare as vacant the seat of the Appellant, a law-maker of the Bendel State House of Assembly due his absence (without just cause) for a period less than one-third of the total number of sittings of the said House of Assembly (which is 181 days)!!! Since the return to Nigeria’s nascent democracy in the year 1999, the only instances wherein Speakers have declared vacant the seat of any legislator due to absenteeism are the 2025 incident at the Zamfara State House of Assembly and sometime ago at the Edo State House of Assembly. Political solutions were later deployed to settle these matters. Two years ago, in a legislative lawyers’ journal, I authored an article wherein I published the attendance register of the Delta State House of Assembly to show which members had met the 181-day attendance requirement. The Clerk and the members were so furious at me, it is only by a miracle of the Almighty that I am still alive after the attacks from that incident!!! A piece of information that is supposed to be public knowledge to guide voters and the electorate about the performance of the legislators whom they voted for is now what is treated as highly confidential and classified information!!! For my own safety, the Clerk at the National Assembly refused to share with me a copy of the attendance register!!! Uwais JSC was courageous enough to do justice by supporting the expulsion by the Speaker of the said legislator of the then Bendel State House of Assembly for his failure to satisfy the 181 days attendance requirement!!! In contrast, in the Supreme Court judgment of 28th February 2025, another Justice of the Supreme Court looks for technicalities to justify the deviant action of 27 law-makers of the Rivers State House of Assembly!!!
- State Vs. Ilori (1983) N.S.C.C. 69 . The scope of the power of the Attorney-General’s power to discontinue a criminal trial (Noelle Prosequi) was the subject matter of this case arising from the exercise of the said power by the then Attorney-General of Lagos State!!! Uwais JSC made the point that this power of the Attorney-General is not a licence for self-aggrandisement but this discretion must be exercised in the OVER-RIDING PUBLIC INTEREST!!! Recently, we are witnessing a situation wherein the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of the Federation is exercising this power in the interest of two individuals and not in the OVER-RIDING PUBLIC INTEREST!!!
- Ukaegbu vs. Attorney-General of Imo State (1983) 14 N.S.C.C. Uwais JSC laid down the rule that private individuals and Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) have a right to establish private universities!!!
- Attorney-General of Bendel State vs. Attorney-General of the Federation (1981) 12 N.S.C.C. 314_Uwais, JSC and others laid down the precedent that failure of any piece of legislation to comply with ALL THE STAGES OF THE LAW-MAKING PROCESS as laid down in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria would mean that such a piece of legislation would be declared null and void and inconsistent with Section 4(8) of the then 1979 Nigerian Constitution. Even though the Attorney-General of the Federation tried to argue that the said Money Bill of 1980 complied with the provisions of the Acts Authentication Act, 1961, his Lordship, Uwais held that the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution that regulate law-making process are superior to the Acts Authentication Act, 1961 and must therefore be strictly complied with!!!
- Adesanya vs. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1981) N.S.C.C. 145 on the issue of locus standi, Uwais, JSC “emphasised the need to strike a fair equilibrium between the requirements of access to justice and the need to discourage meddlesome interlopers, busy-bodies and professional litigants from litigating over matters which do not directly affect them”
From the foregoing, it is crystal clear that Uwais, JSC is IRREPLACEABLE and unfortunately, his generation of courageous, morally and ethically upright Nigerian jurists are slowly giving way to a new generation of jurists that only time would tell their ideological or pecuniary leanings!!!
