The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, and the president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, on Tuesday, among other senior members of the legal community, paid tribute to the late former Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Daniel Abutu.
Mr Abutu, who served as chief judge of the Federal High Court from September 2009 to March 2011, died at 79 on 3 June.
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At a valedictory court session held in his honour at the Federal High Court headquarters in Abuja, members of the bar and the bench recounted the late jurist’s legacy of integrity, courage, and unwavering commitment to justice.
The event was led by the current Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho. Mr Tsoho described the late judge as a compassionate and jovial figure whose judicial career left an indelible impact on the institution.
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Mr Tsoho noted that although Mr Abutu’s tenure as chief judge was brief, it was impactful. He said the late judge, who hailed from Kogi State, North-central Nigeria, was known for his impartiality, legal clarity, and ability to unify the court. He added that the judicial division of the court in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State, was established during his tenure.
He said the late Abutu served across the Sokoto, Benin, Enugu, and Lagos judicial divisions and was appointed to the Federal High Court bench on 14 December 1988. He became Chief Judge on 4 September 2009. After 18 months in the role, he clocked the retirement age on 15 March 2011.
He added that “the late judge contributed to legal reforms, including the review of the Admiralty Jurisdiction Procedure Rules in 2010 and oversaw the infrastructural development of court divisions” across the country.
Similarly, the Attorney-General of the Federation, who was represented by Tijani Gazali, the AGF, described the late judge as an erudite jurist who helped to lay the foundation for the 2010 doctrine of necessity during a constitutional crisis.
The doctrine of necessity was invoked in February 2010 during the constitutional crisis that followed President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s medical absence. In that period, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan was empowered to act as president after the National Assembly, citing the doctrine, stepped in amid a vacuum due to Yar’Adua’s failure to formally transfer powers.
“Justice Abutu’s rulings and judgments were always articulate, often reflecting his dexterity, mastery of the law, and legal scholarship,” he said. He added that the judge’s contributions to nation-building and social stability remain “indelible and phenomenal.”
Recalling a notable instance from 1998, Mr Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said that when the then military junta decided to scrap the Nigerian Law School, Lagos Campus, following the establishment of the Bwari Campus as the main and only campus, some eminent leaders of the Lagos Bar challenged the decision in court.
He recalled that the case, marked FHC/UCS/92/99 and listed as Chief Emmanuel Ofulue & Anor v. Attorney-General of the Federation & 2 Ors, was presided over by Mr Abutu.
“Regardless of the opposition and determination of the military government to pursue that course of action, His Lordship, on 3 February 1999, issued an injunctive order restraining the Federal Government, its servants or privies from selling, alienating, or otherwise parting with possession of the Nigerian Law School campus and its appurtenances in Lagos,” the AGF said.
NBA President, ex-chief judge, others eulogise Abutu
Mr Osigwe, a SAN and NBA president, also eulogised the late judge, describing him as a fearless and independent jurist committed to the constitutional order.
“His courtroom was not only a place of adjudication but also a forum of education. His judgments reflected clarity, depth, and fidelity to precedent,” Mr Osigwe said.
Mr Osigwe cited, among other cases, Attorney-General of the Federation v. Guardian Newspapers Ltd & Ors (1999), as one of Mr Abutu’s notable judgements defending press freedom against arbitrary state power.
The former Attorney-General of the Federation, Kanu Agabi, also a SAN, who represented the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) at the event, praised the late judge for his integrity and independence. He described him as a man who did not conform at a time when conformity had become the norm because the nation was too weak to punish wrongdoing.
“Despite his achievements, he remained humble. Yet, he gave no one cause to take him for granted,” Mr Agabi said.
He urged the judiciary to uphold the values of truth and justice, saying: “It is because of men and women like you, judges, that we have hope. Take away our judges, and we are finished.” He acknowledged the imperfections in the judiciary but cautioned against condemning it as a whole.
“Of course, we don’t have a perfect judiciary. Some judges are making mistakes. But people use that to condemn the judiciary as a whole. It should not be so,” he said.
“We must begin to emphasise the things that unite us, rather than those that divide us. Our ancestors, therefore, deserve a nation, one whose patience, resilience, and intelligence will take on the world, not a nation unable to avail itself to its citizens.”
He continued: “We are going to celebrate life. However violent we become, we shall not celebrate violence. We shall celebrate peace, not violence. However, corrupt the nation becomes, we shall not celebrate corruption. We shall indeed celebrate truth.”
The first female Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, R.N. Ukeje, recalled working closely with Mr Abutu and admired his intellect and independence.
“His judgments were always lucid, well-articulated, blind to partisanship, and entrenched in the delivery of justice,” she said.
Ms Ukeje, who was the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court from 9 October 2001 to 5 January 2008, noted that his memory should serve as a call to duty for those still serving on the bench. “We must constantly imagine the faith reposed in us by those who come to us in search of justice,” she said.
Referencing the statue of Lady Justice at the court’s entrance, she remarked: “If that lifeless yet meaningful statue does nothing to hold us to account, then the memory of one who we knew, worked with, and called brother should call us to action.”
She closed her tribute with a line from William Wordsworth: “Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower, we will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains behind.”
The late Mr Abutu was born on 15 March 1946 in Abocho, Kogi State. He was called to the Nigerian Bar on 3 July 1976 and passed away at 79 on 3 June.
