Ex-CJN Mohammed Lawal Uwais dies at 88

Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais has died. He died on Eid-el-Kabir day at the age of 89. Uwais, who served for 11 years from 1995 – 2006 as CJN died in Abuja on Friday.

Born on June 12, 1936, in Zaria, Kaduna State, Justice Uwais was called to the Bar at Middle Temple, London, in 1963 after graduating from the University of London. He was thereafter enrolled at the Nigerian Bar on 17th January 1964 and later that same year posted to the Ministry of Justice of the Northern Nigeria as a Pupil State Counsel, Senior State Counsel (1966-1970) from where he rose through the rank to eventually become the Solicitor –General and Permanent Secretary of the North-Central in 1971.

He was elevated to the Bench as Acting Judge of the High Courts of North Central, Benue –Plateau and North Eastern States of Nigeria and later Chief Judge, of Kaduna State (1973-1976). On 1st January 1977, he was appointed a Justice of the Court of Appeal, and in August 1979 at age 43 he was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. This earned the late jurist the nickname “baby of the court.” In 1995, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman of the National Judicial Council following the retirement of CJN Muhammed Bello. Having attained the statutory retirement age of 70 for Apex Court judges with a little over 33 years in judicial office, His Lordship retired June 12, 2006.

Justice Uwais was renowned for his commitment to judicial reforms and the independence of the judiciary. After his retirement, he chaired the Electoral Reform Committee in 2007, which produced the “Uwais Report.”The report recommended significant changes to Nigeria’s electoral system, including the establishment of an independent electoral offences commission and reforms to the appointment process of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).