Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais is Dead
A former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mohammed Uwais, is dead.
He passed on in the early hours of Friday in Abuja, according to a family source. He was aged 88.
Born on June 12, 1936, in Zaria, Kaduna State, he began his education at the Native Authority Elementary School in Kaduna and later attended Barewa College, completing his secondary education in 1957.
In 1959, he joined the civil service as a Publicity Assistant in the Ministry of Information, Kaduna. He later served as Editor of the Law Reports of the Northern States of Nigeria from 1974 to 1978. He studied at the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, and was called to the Nigerian Bar on January 17, 1964.
Justice Uwais served as the Chief Justice of Nigeria from 1995 until his retirement in 2006. During his tenure, he was widely regarded for his commitment to judicial integrity and reform.
Following his call to the Bar, in the early days of his legal career, Uwais worked at the Ministry of Justice of Northern Nigeria as a Pupil State Counsel. By 1971, he had become Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the North-Central State.
In 1973, he was appointed as Acting Judge of the High Court of the North Eastern States and became a substantive judge in 1974. He briefly served as Acting Chief Judge of Kaduna State in 1976 before being appointed to the Federal Court of Appeal on January 1, 1977. In 1979, he was elevated to the Supreme Court, where he served for 27 years. In 1995, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman of the National Judicial Council.
He also served as Chairman, Nigerian Body of Benchers (1993-1994), and as Chairman, Board of Governors of the National Judicial Institute of Nigeria from 1995 to 2006.
He was Chairman of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Awards of Contracts by the Military Government of North Central State (1976); Chairman of the Jimeta Disturbances Tribunal, Gongola State of Nigeria (1984); and a Commonwealth Member of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the deaths of senior army personnel, Sri Lanka (1993).
He was the Honorary President of the World Jurist Association, Washington D.C; Honorary Fellow of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies, London; and a Member of the Board of Trustees, Global Legal Information Network Foundation (GLIN), Washington D.C.
Uwais was involved in several landmark cases, including A-G Federation vs. A-G Abia State (2001), INEC vs. Musa (2002), and Fawehinmi vs. I.G.P. (2002).
Post-retirement, he chaired the Presidential Electoral Reform Committee, which submitted a report in 2008 recommending electoral reforms such as the establishment of independent commissions and a proportional representation system. Some proposals from the report sparked public debate. He was appointed Chancellor of Umaru Musa Yaradua University, Katsina, Katsina State in 2011.
Uwais received several national and international honours, including the Commander of the Order of the Niger (1980) and Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (2000).
Meanwhile, preparations for his funeral prayer and burial are said to have begun.
