By Lillian Okenwa
At 36 he was already on the High Court Bench. At 41 he was at the Federal Court of Appeal, as it was then called. By the time he turned 43 he’d made it to the Supreme Court and earned the nickname “baby of the court.” He would eventually serve for 27 years, out of which he was Chief Justice of Nigeria for 11 years. Having attained the statutory retirement age of 70 for appellate court judges with a little over 33 years in judicial office, His Lordship retired June 12, 2006. For one whose dream was to become a judge at 45 and probably retire from the High Court at 65, Hon. Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais is indeed a child of destiny.
Following his elevation to the Supreme Court on August 15, 1979, along with the late Attorney General of the Federation, Hon. Justice Augustine Nnamani under General Olusegun Obasanjo, then military Head of State, his first case was the popular 12 two third case between the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Alhaji Shehu Shagari. Still very fresh at the court, Uwais was invited by the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Atanda Fatai-Williams to join the panel that decided the appeal which today is a cause célèbre. This was because Justice George S. Sowemimo who later became a CJN himself declined to be part of the panel. His excuse was that he convicted Awolowo in the 1960’s in the then Western Region.
Born on June 12, 1936 in Zaria, Kaduna State, Justice Uwais will be remembered for making many remarkable imprints on the court and indeed, Nigeria’s judicial system. His court amongst many notable judgments will be remembered for expanding the political landscape by allowing registration of new political parties by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in November 2002.
Though modest in listing his successes in office, Uwais disclosed that he introduced the special sitting of the court in September to mark the beginning of the legal year and have new Senior Advocates sworn in. In 1998, convinced the Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, to appoint more Justices of the Supreme Court and for the first time since the 1979 Constitution came into operation, the Court got its full complement of 16 Justices. He also introduced three terms for the Court in the legal year, during which arrangements of panels change.
On June 12, 2021, His Lordship turned 85 and eulogies have continued to pour in.
First to pay his tribute was 87 yearsold Hon. Justice Uthman Mohammed, JSC, Rtd. He spoke over the phone from Argungu in Kebbi State.
We have been together since 1961 when we were training to get admission into University of London. He was in the second course. I was in the third course. It was arranged by Northern Nigerian government to train northerners to become lawyers. They got 12 batches each and got lecturers from University of London who came and tutored us at the Institute of Administration, Zaria, now Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, on getting the requirements for admission into London University.
Our group stayed with Justice Uwais’ group for about three months. Not long after, they completed their training and went to London. Afterwards we followed. We went to law school in London where we were tutored for final examinations of the bar. We were at Gibson College of Law which tutored us also on passing the final exams. He passed in 1963 or 1964. I passed in 1965. There was no Nigerian Law School at the time he returned to Nigeria but they had a short training of Nigerian statutes and laws. Then he joined Ministry of Justice as a Barrister.
He was a state counsel and he was there up to the time they needed High Court judges in Kaduna State by then the military had taken over and he was appointed a High Court judge in Kaduna State. He was there 1967 or 1968 (I cannot remember the exact date) he was also going to Bauchi and sitting there in the North Eastern judiciary. He was then recruited in 1977 when the government established the Federal Court of Appeal to serve as an intermediary between the supreme Court and the High Court He was in the second batch recruited into the Federal Court of Appeal. I later joined him in 1979 and when it was the time of the North to produce a Justice of the Supreme Court, Uwais was the most senior.
I joined him later in the Supreme Court when Justice Mohammed Bello was CJN and when he retired Uwais took over. But I have been close to Uwais for a long time and our families have been together. Very nice gentleman, quiet and unassuming character, straight forward and very learned in his way of writing judgment
He lives a very simple life with his family and would not accept to be in the upper class always. You will see his wives particularly the younger one Maryam always attending events and so on. Uwais is a very simple person. A quiet man; I’ve known him for quite a long time.
Hon. Justice Mahmud Mohammed, Rtd., a former Chief Justice of Nigeria
He made a lot of impact on me. He brought me up in the legal profession. He was a High Court Judge in the old Northern Nigeria and sometimes sits in Maiduguri. I started my practice before him in 1971 with the current Emir of Ilorin, HRH Sulu Gambari. We were together in Maiduguri, so I was appearing before His Lordship. He brought me up in the legal profession. I remember a time, when I and the late Justice B. A Ba‘aba, former Justice of the Court Appeal appeared before him. I was Ba‘aba’s senior but he was the one prosecuting and I kept interrupting and butting in. At a point Justice Uwais said, ‘look Mahmud, who is prosecuting this case, is it you or Ba-aba? I said, no my lord, it is Ba-aba who is prosecuting the case. He then said: ‘Ok sit down and let him do his case.’ Honestly, Justice Uwais is a great Justice. When I was in the Court of Appeal, we worked very closely. If you go through the law reports of Nigeria, I don’t think, any Judge has the number of Judgments he has in this country. His judgments are all over in the law reports.
He is a great Jurist. When I came to the Supreme Court, we also worked very closely. I was on his panel so many times and I wrote lead judgments while he presided. He is a jurist whose role will leave very big foot prints on the sands of Nigerian Judiciary; there is no doubt about that. He is one of my mentors in the Judiciary. I respect him a great deal as most of us do, because he’s a leading chief from this side of the country.
Hon. Justice Suleiman Galadima, JSC, Rtd.
I lack words to describe the character and disposition of His Lordship the former Chief Justice of Nigeria. He is a mentor to so many of us who were judges in the High Court, Court of Appeal, Customary Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
I owe him a lot of gratitude and I am so grateful to him. He encouraged me when I was Chief Judge of Nassarawa State to join the Court of Appeal when a vacancy arose. I was very reluctant but, he pulled me out. He insisted I joined the Court of Appeal; that there was nothing remaining for me to do at the High Court in Nassarawa State after being there for two years. So I pulled out and joined the court in 1998. He actually called to tell me there’s a vacancy at the Court of Appeal and the slot is for Nasarawa state. He is a father to so many of us. I am so happy for him turning 85 and I pray he turns 100.
Hon. Justice Umaru F. Abdullaji, Rtd., a former President of the Court of Appeal
Justice Uwais was there so much in my life as a lawyer, particularly when we were serving in the Ministry of Justice at Kaduna. He was such a wonderful fellow. So caring and very learned. I remember vividly the kind of training they gave us in the Ministry. We were all in the same block. Some were upstairs. Some were down stairs. In those good old days, when cases come, we normally go through the files and advice. When there are serious cases in case files from the police, we look at the facts and advise first. Then when we need additional evidence, we send for the officer who endorsed the letter. We then give him directives to go and cross check this and cross check that. Pay attention to this section, pay attention to that. After we have collected all the information, we decide whether there is going to be a prosecution or not. In those days Police don’t go prosecuting cases, particularly in the High Courts. During that time of Uwais as Principal State Counsel it was a policy that every State Counsel should be aware of the facts of all the cases that are in the ministry, so we hold conference almost weekly.
As Principal State Counsel he will sit with us and listen as you express your opinion on any particular case. After everybody has expressed his opinion, he will come in last with his experience, his knowledge and add more. So after the conference, everybody will be prepared and any of the state counsel can pick any case file any day and go to court to prosecute. What this meant was that we don’t need to assign any particular state counsel to a case in the event he’s not available when the matter comes up. Anybody from the ministry can pick up the case file and go to the court confidently and proceed with it. That was the grand thing that we all benefitted from.
With Uwais we had to work hard. We had to know what we were doing. There are no excuses with him. In those days we used to go for the Assizes. The High Court will go to Katsina, Zaria, Kafanchan to other out stations for Assizes. The Judges of the High Court will be there, Police will be there, the State Council will be there, the investigators will be there, everyone will be there. The case will be heard fully with no problems. At the time I left the Ministry for the Judiciary as a magistrate I met other set of people that were also very good people. Justice SMA Belgore, late Justice Shehu Mohammed. We received very solid training, both as legal officers and as Junior Judicial officers. But I think the foundation that was laid in the Ministry of Justice, was done by Justice Uwais. Quite a number of us worked with him then. The late Dahiru Musdapher, Justice I A. Salami, Justice Alooma Mukhtar we were all there. She was at the Legal Drafting department but on the same block. Most of us came up successfully because we had solid foundation laid down by our seniors. Justice Uwais was an architect of those success.
As President Court of Appeal when he was CJN, we had a very cordial relationship and there was mutual respect for each other. That was the most important part of it. Mutual respect. He was a great Jurist, a great prosecutor, and when he went to the High Court, he proved himself. He is very eloquent, very compassionate, and independent also. He is a respecter of the law and knows the law. Anybody appearing before him those days must know what he is doing.
One cannot fail to see the quality he exhibited as a Jurist and anyone following his footsteps will hardly go wrong.
Hon. Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa, Rtd., a former President, Court of Appeal.
As a young lawyer, when I was called to the bar and was posted to the Ministry of Justice Kaduna State, we were hearing their names and were impressed because we looked up to them as our role models. Himself, Justice Bello, Justice Belgore, Justice Umaru Abdullahi whom I happened to have met at an early age and then Justice Dahiru Musdapher. We looked up to them as role models. But then I came into close contact with him after I was appointed as a judge. I think that was 1988 when we attended the All Nigerian Judges Conference. It was the end of 1988. Dada my last child was a baby and I had just lost my husband. I was taking her and Nana (second daughter) everywhere. Justice Belgore and Justice Uwais would say I should keep Dada with them, that she was their classmate and I would leave her with them. I looked up to them as my elder brothers; those I could go to with my problems. When I joined the Federal Judiciary as a judge from Gombe State where I was the Chief Judge I was impressed with the way he handled the judiciary and members of the NJC.
When I was sworn in to the Court of Appeal, he was the CJN then. But they were of high pedestal from us, so we simply tried to emulate them, and rely on their judgments. His wife Maryam is like a sister to me. Her mother was someone I could go to at any time and she is married to the Dasuki family who were very close friends with my late husband. I also know the first wife Hajiya Saratu through one of my registrars when I was a magistrate in Zaria.
Hon. Justice Danlami Senchi, JCA, a former Chief Registrar, Supreme Court of Nigeria
If I should comment on Justice Uwais as a person, I think it will take us years. Since I started my career in the judiciary, I have never worked with a person that impacted me as he did. I learnt a lot from him, and he has also put me through a lot of things. Uwais is a complete gentleman; very straight forward and down to earth. A man that has feelings for others. An honest man. A very sincere and faithful person who has the fear of God. In all his official functions, which I believe I am in a position to speak about as his former Chief Registrar, he acts in accordance with his oath of office, in accordance with due process, in accordance with the law. If you don’t want to get into trouble with him, then do things in accordance with due process. Uwais will never ask you to do anything not in accordance with due process. So when you are looking for justice and you appear before the gentle man, believe you me, you can go and sleep. For some of us that are still serving today, a lot of his judgments have impacted on our decisions.
He never interferes with the discharge of anybody’s responsibilities and that is one thing that I learned from his form his leadership. When he delivers a judgment, we know that is the law. Indeed when you read the decision, you will know it is the law talking. So, I can say Nigeria and indeed the legal profession in Nigeria have been enriched by his knowledge through his judgments. It is impacting positively on the society today.
In terms of transparency and accountability on even simple allowances like duty tour allowances, if I take N20, 000 to him, he will ask me: ‘How did you arrive at this N20, 000?’ And believe you me, if I can’t explain I am in trouble. When we’re checking into a hotel during our trips, he will insist on queuing up like any other person. He does not believe in this paraphernalia of people following him, like protocol and policemen and what have you during trips. No, no, no! Only his orderly and I think his escort were about 3 policemen, then his driver. He doesn’t use siren at all. If you add a day to and a day after to his duty tour allowance, because of various reasons that night rise, he will object strongly.
Even when he was CJN, he sits every day. He sits, presides and writes judgments. There is no way you can mention the Nigerian judiciary without mentioning Justice Uwais. Certainly the history will be incomplete. I wish him well. I wish him long life. I wish him more years and more years and maybe I should say, I look forward to Uwais at 100. We will continue living on his legacies. We will continue to follow his footsteps. He’s a father.
Asiwaju Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN
His contributions are innumerable in constitutional law, and civil rights. He was particularly concerned with application and civil rights. He was a man versatile in so many things. Talk about building construction, contract, medical negligence , name it and he was very comfortable with it.
We thank God that he had the capacity, the intellectual ability to put down in his judgements words on marble. He was able to establish the Independence of the judiciary as CJN. He never compromised that or the separation of powers.
As a jurist, he is one that is respected internationally. Few of us who have had the privilege of going to few countries of the world, South Africa, Canada where Nigerian judgments are read, know how well our judicial officers are respected because they are well grounded in law and their disposition to constitutional law in the commonwealth. When you go to Kenya, Uganda, India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and almost all the commonwealth countries we have had the privilege of visiting for conferences including Singapore, they have great regards for our judgement and it is because people like M.L. Uwais laid the foundation for international respectability. While he is alive we must celebrate him and I join the good people of this country to celebrate him, he is a gentleman per excellence.
There were times allegations of corruption were levelled against him but he handled it with a great deal of maturity and benevolence because according to him he had nothing to hide. When those who accused him were brought to us at the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), it became apparent they were relying on beer parlour gossip. They had nothing to defend the allegations. When politicians were defending those allegations, it was as if heavens would fall. But my Lord Justice Uwais handled it maturely.
I have great regards for him for upholding the integrity and dignity of the Judiciary. When he was the Chief Justice he carried himself with so much dignity, so much respectability. Many of us were young and would keep a distance whenever he came for the bar conference in those days. But as I grew at the bar, I got to know that he is a compassionate father. His judgments are not mere academic rhetoric but a true understanding of the law, appreciation of the societal values and norms.
When his bosom friend Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim, SAN was alive, they came visiting in my house about 5 years ago. My wife and I were shocked. We were having lunch and weren’t sure they’d like what we were eating but they graciously joined us and ate. It was one of the greatest gifts he gave to me.
A man of many parts, he is passionate about the growth of young lawyers. When I became an SAN in 1992, he was in the Supreme Court and was one of those that first congratulated me. I was the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Osun state then.
One thing he hated most in his career was fraud and corruption, and so he would never spare any case that manifestly showed corruption and fraud either by counsel or parties. So in a way I have good memories of him and will continue to have. He laid a solid foundation for high integrity in that court. Many of the things you see these days happening would never happened in the time of Uwais. One of the greatest disservices is the raiding of the houses of judicial officers by officers of the executive without hearing from the Chief Justice. It was a great disrespect to the judiciary. Their houses were raided in the night as criminals and charged to court without recourse to the NJC.
The level of disrespect happening now and some of the things happening to the judiciary now would never have happened in M. L Uwais’ time as CJN. I am sure if such things happened in his time he would have resigned in protest and I pray it never happen again. These days you have politicians talking carelessly about judgments of the Supreme Court. Some even had the effrontery to tell the Supreme Court to interpret its own judgment. That never happened in his time. Forever we will remember him and his children will enjoy his goodwill.
My lord is also very humorous. If he noticed a lawyer fidgeting he would throw a joke and everybody including his brother justices would relax so that you will gather yourself as a lawyer. I am happy that I was a lawyer during his time as CJN and I am happy as an SAN, I appeared before him several times. We celebrate him.
He is a lucky man with strong women who have supported him. I thank those good women in the life of M.L. Uwais for caring for him and being in his life. I pray he lives up to 90 and beyond. My mother died at 96, so if he beats my mother’s record it will be to the Glory of God.
Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN
Big congratulations to His Lordship the Honourable Mr. Justice Uwais at the special age of 85 years. The longest serving Chief Justice of Nigeria and a gentleman per excellence!!!! We will for long admire the Uwais Court for its integrity independence and courage. It will for long remain a Beacon of what the third arm of Government ought to be.
Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN
I am proud and privileged to have appeared before Hon. Justice M. L Uwais. I also interacted with him when he was at the Supreme Court before he became the CJN and later as a former CJN. As a judicial officer I will say he is one of the best we had. He is very kind and erudite in his judgements.
In the many judgements he gave and the concurrent judgments, you will see the intellect in him to ensure justice was given. Not justice given for the sake of it, or being technical. He gives judgement that will satisfy the essence of the matter in litigation. During the 2003 election case of Buhari vs. Obasanjo for instance, where General Muhammed Buhari the presidential candidate of ANPP fought all the way from the tribunal to the Supreme Court. When you read that judgment even though Buhari lost, there are many principles of law that were enunciated in the case, like Notice to Produce. If you serve and a person failed to produce, Uwais said you can go by way of committal. It was in that decision that you can go after the person who fails to produce the document like INEC for example. It was not there before.
There was also the issue of burden to proof in election petition. Even though he said the person alleging (the petitioner) has the burden to prove that the election was not conducted because of the provision in the Electoral Act. He said it was an uphill task for the petitioner to upset the return made by INEC.
So when you read that decision as a politician, litigator or as election petition practitioner you will decide whether to go with the petition or you’re not going. It was a judgement that filled an entire law report. A lot of principles were enunciated. That case became one of the most often cited authorities in the matters of election and it was on account of that when Yar’Adua came into power and Uwais has retired, he appointed him as chairman of Election Reform Committee to suggest ways and means of reforming our electoral process.
Yar’adua acknowledged that the 2007 election was far from been free and fair and justice Uwais in his report found that the election conducted by Prof. Maurice Iwu was the worse election since 1952 or thereabout. You will see that even after his retirement he continued to be of service. If his suggestions and recommendations had been implemented by either Yaradua or Jonathan I believe that the electoral process would have been much better now.
On the human aspect, he was a very patient judge, very understanding and very mature in his approach. Somebody came to court to make allegations against him so as to lure him into embarking on committal proceedings and he referred the matter to the Inspector General of Police to investigate all the allegations made. Some people were trying to instigate him to stumble but he was able to get out of the trap. There are so many areas that one can say he has been a blessing to the Nigerian Judiciary.
Under his regime he reformed the processes of appointing Senior Advocates. Before all you need was to fill the form and say that you have 20,000 books and you have 100 lawyers and nobody will investigate. Under Uwais an advert was placed in the newspapers in 2004 urging members of the public, bar and bench to air their views on ways and means of reforming the process of appointing senior advocates. It was after receiving those views that the inspection of law offices and all the claims made in the form by the applicant started.
I think history will be kind to him and I am happy he is celebrating his 85th birthday. We as lawyers owe him a very big birthday celebration. Nobody would allege with any proof that Uwais was a corrupt judicial officer. He was upright. We wish him a happy birthday in good health.
I must state that it was during his regime that I became an SAN and almost all the Justices of the Supreme Court recommended me.
Talking about the man, his humility, his humanity, I remember either in 2001 or so when his confidential secretary, Mr Sunday Awonusi was gunned down by unknown assailants somewhere near the central mosque. We all travelled for his burial in Ogun State and you could see the human side of his Lordship. He was uncontrollably weeping and had to be comforted by people around. That was how I got close to him and knew he was a kind man that never forgets his subordinates or colleagues. Most of the ceremonies of his colleagues in those days he would attend in person with his amiable wife. Though we don’t see him as often anymore because of the Covid, we wish him many more happy returns in good health and we will continue to pray for him that God in His infinite mercies will continue to give him peace of mind.
Chief Ogwu James Onoja, SAN
One of the things that strike you about him is his humility. A very humble man, in spite of all his achievements. He is someone we look up to as a mentor in and out of the legal profession. One of the greatest jurists we have in this country; a jurist we all look up to. This is a man that came into the Supreme Court at a very young age and he was there for 27 years. He was Chief Justice of Nigeria for 11 years. His administrative acumen is what has led to the development of this Supreme Court. He contributed greatly to the legal profession in those years as you can see in his judgements and even after his retirement you can see his impact in our political and social lives in the form of the Uwais Report where he was the chairman of the 22 man panel selected to anchor electoral reforms in Nigeria.
If the recommendations of his panel were implemented, we would not be having the political issues we have now; the stunted development we are having now. We would have seen a lot of development and the agitation we are having now of people planning to break away would not be there. If the report had been implemented, most of the issues on political injustice we are having now would have been dealt with. And the report adequately captured all these issues. The role of the INEC, the Police, the Army and even proposed constitutional amendment. If you look at the Uwais’ Report you will see that it was a work of people of integrity. Highly intelligent people and he was the architect behind it.
And when you talk of his humility, when I moved to this office he came personally and visited me with the late friend Alhaji Abdullahi, SAN and he prayed for me. He is a mentor and I look up to him. I pray their labour will not be in vain.
Bilkisu Abdulmalik Abdulrasheed, Pioneer Executive Secretary, Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC)
I was the pioneer Secretary of the Federal Judicial Service Commission from 1999 until I retired after 35 years of service in 2017. At the same time I also acted as the pioneer secretary of the National Judicial Council from 1999 to 2002 before I handed over to the substantive secretary, Alhaji Danladi Haliru.
His Lordship Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais GCON was my first chairman and the CJN at that time, so I served under him from 1999 to about 2006. But I have known him long before then. He happens to be my close friend’s husband. Maryam Uwais. It was actually through him I joined the Federal Judiciary. I was working with the Kano State government. He encouraged me to move to Abuja and I have no regrets in doing that as it has made a difference to my life and I will forever remain grateful to them; him and his wife who is my friend and sister.
My experience was like the murky waters because it was something new. The NJC was the creation of the 1999 Constitution and they had the Federal Judicial Service Committee before the Commission. When I came in, his lordship was the best guide, mentor and the best boss and leader any one could ask for. He made my work much easier and was extremely patient with me because it was like I was groping in the dark. But he gave me the confidence and made me believe that it was possible to achieve what we wanted to achieve. He was a pusher. He won’t allow you to rest, and made sure you are on your toes but he gave so much encouragement. At that I had like twenty something members of staff who were novices working under me; some given to me from the Supreme Court. He was always there. Even times when I was down, I couldn’t have asked for a better person to work with and whatever the Commission is today after God is him because he laid a solid foundation.
When I later handed over the NJC to my successor Alhaji Danladi he also did a wonderful job and we worked together to ensure that the place was a success. We needed to hand over to others that would do better and even when we left, others did well too. From what we hear today the place is a success. So right from the first Chairman, Justice Uwais down to Justice Onnoghen who was there when I left, they were all fantastic.
Danladi Halilu, Former Executive Secretary, National Judicial Commission (NJC)
I was with him from July 2002 to 12 June 2006 because he retired 12th June 2006. All my life if I had any superior officer who mentored me, he is one person that I will single out as an administrator per excellence and not just a judicial officer.
He never for one day took me as his own staff but treated me as a son throughout. Anybody who knows Baba Uwais would tell you he is one who is very meticulous, very hardworking, efficient and diabolically intelligent without any contradiction. I would say this anywhere any day. The country is lucky to have him because from his myriad of experience he was such a wonderful judicial officer.
He was one boss that will give you protection before any other person but between you and him he can even cane you. But before any other person he would protect you and he would later put you through. If you make any mistake in the course of your work he would scold you, but outside his office he would not allow even a fly to touch you. He would give you that protection.
He was such a wonderful boss and father. That is why since his exit from office there was no time that I had the opportunity to see him that I would not see him. Even up till the time that my dad died we would go and pay our Sallah compliments and respects to him apart from my personal visits to him.
By his nature he is very blunt. When I was to construct the secretariat of the NJC I went to him three to four times but he refused. He said Danladi, unless I am not the CJN, I would not give you approval. Stay where you are at the secretariat of the NJC was in the FJSC building. When he was retired I got approval to construct the secretariat of the NJC and on the day of the commissioning he said all credits goes to this young man because I didn’t give him the approval.
Blunt and as Frank as he is, he didn’t give himself the credit that he was the one that gave me the approval. All those that worked under him will confirm this to you; he knows the job not just as a judicial officer but when it comes to administration you would wonder if he studied public administration. Even when it comes to law you will wonder if there is no university he didn’t attend. And even when it comes to being meticulous, he’s impeccable. I am not flattering him. That’s baba for you. He is down to earth and doesn’t like anybody who is lazy otherwise you cannot work with him.
