Nigeria lost a renowned lawyer and former judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Niki Tobi, on June 16. His death robbed the nation of one of its most brilliant and dedicated jurists. Justice Tobi’s passage has expectedly engendered a deluge of eulogies from many prominent Nigerians, who have variously described him as an erudite lawyer, a consummate academician, an administrator par excellence and an eminent jurist.
In his tribute to the deceased, the Chief Justice of the Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, affirmed Tobi’s indelible contributions to the development of jurisprudence in Nigeria. He noted that the late jurist will be remembered for his assiduousness during the review of the draft 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the military administration of Gen. Abdusalam Abubakar (retd). Other notable Nigerians have described him as a world class judge with many landmark judgments in the nation’s law reports.
Justice Tobi was also an outstanding academician and an expert in property law. He served as Head of Department and Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Maiduguri between 1977 and 1982, and Deputy Vice Chancellor, (Academic Services), between 1981 and 1983. He was appointed a professor of law in 1982. His intellectual background added great value to his work on the bench, which was well appreciated by the legal community in the country.
Professor Fabian Ajogwu (SAN) described him as a great jurist and an outstanding intellectual. Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), who recalled his colourful use of English Language, noted the positive impact of his academic background on the judgments of both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN), stressed that Tobi’s endearing humanism, courage, incorruptibility and patriotism came handy at crucial moments in our history when our judiciary was groping for direction and rectitude.
A Lagos-based lawyer and National President of Igbo Think Tank, Aka Ikenga, Chief Goody Uwazurike, said the late judge bestrode the academic and judicial arms of law like a colossus.
Born on July 14, 1940 at Esanma, Bomadi Local Council in present Delta State, Niki Tobi obtained his law degree at the University of Lagos between 1966 and 1969. He was at the Nigerian Law School, 1969-1970; University of Lagos (part-time), 1969-1971 and the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, (part-time) 1979-1983. He rose to the position of Head of Department and Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Maiduguri, in 1977.
The deceased was appointed a judge of the High Court, Rivers State, in 1985 and served there till 1990. He was also a member of the International Bar Association. His publications include: Criminal Law and Procedure in Nigeria (1980); The Rule of Law in Military Regimes (1982); and Impact of Constitution Suspension and Modifications Decrees on Nigerian Constitution (1985).
Tobi served as a judge of the apex court between 2002 and 2010. He was the chairman of the Constitution Review Committee under the Abdusalam Abubakar transition regime in 1998. He also chaired the Commission of Inquiry into Plateau State Riots of 2001 before he was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court in 2002.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him the chairman of the National Political Reform Conference (NPRC). He was also the chairman of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal that validated the April 2007 election of Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan as President and Vice President, respectively. He was conferred with the National Honour, Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON). The late jurist will be remembered for his erudition. Coming into the nation’s judiciary as a professor of law, which is the highest academic attainment ever paraded by any judicial officer in the country, he simplified the writing of judgments and made them readable as well as comprehensive for research purposes. Tobi contributed immensely to the development of the Law Faculty at University of Maiduguri.
We urge the government to immortalise this legal luminary and great patriot. We commiserate with his family and the legal community in the country on his demise. May God grant his soul eternal repose.