Idris Legbo Kutigi [1939-2018]
Nigeria lost one of its most eminent jurists, one with the highest reputation for integrity, with the death last week of former Chief Justice of Nigeria Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi. He died in London on Sunday, October 21 after a brief illness. The late CJN Kutigi was born on December 31, 1939 in Kutigi, Lavun local government of Niger State. He had his elementary education in Kutigi and proceeded to Bida for secondary school education and then went on to Barewa College in Zaria. He also graduated from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria after which he left for England, where he studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and Gibson and Weldon, before returning to attend the Nigeria Law School in Lagos.
Kutigi served as the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Niger State in 1976 and he was later appointed a high court judge. Thereafter, he moved to the Court of Appeal in 1980 and was later appointed to the Supreme Court in 1992. He served in the Supreme Court for 15 years and when Salihu Alfa Belgore retired on January 17, 2007, Kutigi was appointed Chief Justice of Nigeria [CJN] by President Olusegun Obasanjo based on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council.
Kutigi brought to the CJN’s job his stern, incorruptible, no-nonsense reputation. He publicly upbraided judicial officers for various types of sleaze and misconduct; he criticized the practice whereby retired justices of appellate courts work as “consultants” to election petitioners and their lawyers at election tribunals. His knowledge of the law was vast and his diligence unquestionable, all of which he brought to bear in innumerable cases from the bench of courts at various levels during his long and worthy judicial career.
He retired on December 30, 2009 and did the unusual by swearing in his successor, Justice Aloysius Ityorgyer KatsinaAlu. Kutigi did so because President Umaru Yar’Adua was not in the country at the time, due to ill-health. In 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Kutigi as chairman of the National Conference to steer discussions on national issues and present a viable solution on the way forward. With 494 delegates from across the country, Kutigi presided over the confab for four months, even when he lost his wife during its sittings. In 2016, the National Judicial Council [NJC] appointed Justice Kutigi to head a 10-man Judicial Ethics Committee with a mandate to review the code of conduct for judicial officers in the country, an attestation to his vast knowledge and unquestionable diligence.
In his condolence message, President Muhammadu Buhari extended heartfelt condolences to the Kutigi family, members of the judiciary and legal profession, the government and people of Niger State on the death of the eminent jurist. According to him, the late CJN will be long remembered and honored for his visionary roles and contributions in the advances towards building a strong, independent and impartial judiciary, which is sine qua non for democracy to thrive. He said he believed Kutigi’s bold and articulate judicial decisions, advocacies on access to justice for all and protection of judicial independence are extant signposts for the advancement of the noble profession in the country and beyond.
The President urged all who mourned the late jurist to honor his memory by working for a better and just society and enjoined them to uphold the virtues associated with him during his lifetime of long and dedicated service to the nation. Revered as one of the brightest minds to have graced the bench, Kutigi did not only contribute immensely to the Nigerian legal system, he etched his name on a platter of gold in the country’s history and ensured continuous high standard of judicial accountability and probity. He left behind 18 children and over 40 grandchildren. We pray to almighty God to comfort Kutigi’s family, friends and associates and to grant eternal rest to his departed soul.