A former judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Niki Tobi, is dead.
One of the sons of the deceased, Justice Ebi Tobi, who confirmed the death of the former apex court judge on Monday, said the father died on Thursday in Abuja.
“Yes, he died on Thursday. He died at home in Abuja before he got to the hospital,” Ebi, a judge in the Delta State judiciary, told one of our correspondents on the telephone on Monday.
His corpse was deposited at the morgue of the General Hospital, Garki in Abuja.
Ebi stated that the Supreme Court and the Delta State Government had been notified of the father’s death.
Some of the early visitors to the Abuja home of the late Tobi on Monday were the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Mr. Ahmed Saleh, who led the management team of the apex court to the home of the late jurist and the senator, representing Delta South, James Manager.
The late jurist, who joined the Supreme Court bench in 2002, retired as a Justice of the apex court on July 14, 2010, on attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Acclaimed for his brilliance, the late Tobi was born in Esanma, Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State on July 14, 1940.
He was, before his appointment as a judge, the Dean, Faculty of Law and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Services), University of Maiduguri.
The deceased is survived by a wife, 10 children and 10 grandchildren.
Meanwhile, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, on Monday, paid a glowing tribute to the late Tobi.
Other Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo and Mr. Yusuf Ali, said the late jurist would be greatly missed for his exploits on the Supreme Court bench.
Justice Tobi was part of the majority of four Justices of the Supreme Court that validated the election of the late President Umar Yar’Adua, as against the dissenting judgments of three other Justices that nullified the election in 2007.
In a statement by his media aide, Mr. Ahuraka Isah, the CJN urged Tobi’s family to take solace in the “knowledge” that the departed jurist served his country with commitment, dedication and honesty.
The CJN said the late Tobi would also be remembered for his “assiduous review” of the draft 1999 Constitution adopted by the then military administration of the then Head of State, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar, in the wake of the nation’s return to democratic rule in 1998.
The CJN’s statement read, “According to the information received from members of the deceased’s family, Justice Niki Tobi died by 5.30pm on Thursday, June 16, 2016, at the National Hospital in Abuja after a brief illness.”
Awomolo described the late Tobi as one of the most erudite Justices that ever sat on the Supreme Court bench.operations.
0 Comment to "Ex-Supreme Court judge, Tobi, dies at 76, CJN mourns"
Post a Comment