Last of Supreme Court’s golden era, Justice Oputa, dies at 96

THe last of the Golden Era of the Supreme Court, Justice Chukwudifu Akunne Oputa, passed on, yesterday in Abuja, aged 96, after a brief illness. He was famously described by his colleagues at the Bench as the Socrates of the Supreme Court. His other colleagues who made the era golden include Justice Kayode Eso, Justice Nnaemeka Anyagolu, Justice Otutu Obaseki and Justice Babatunde Craig. Contacted yesterday, his eldest son, also a musician and actor, Mr. Charles Oputa, commonly called Charlyboy, who is still reconciling himself with the death of his father, confirmed the death saying: “Na true oooh! (It is true) Daddy don go (Daddy is dead).” Cardiac arrest Asked how he died, he said, “E been get stroke since (He suffered from cardiac arrest for a while).” On plans for the burial, he said “it happened this afternoon (yesterday). We will call elders at home and take it up from there.” He had earlier, in an SMS, said: “The family of Justice Chukwudifu Oputa wishes to announce the passing to glory of the eminent jurist and a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria at the age of 96 years. “He passed on peacefully on Sunday afternoon May 4, 2014, after recovering from a brief illness. Funeral announcements will be released by the family.” *Justice Chukwudifu Oputa.. Vanguard gathered that the late great jurist died at Charlyboy’s Abuja residence. It was also gathered that the late Justice Oputa, recently returned to the country, from a medical trip abroad. Reactions: Reacting to his death, Mr. Austin Alegeh, SAN, said: “The loss of Justice Oputa is indeed sad. The legal profession and the nation has lost an erudite jurist and one of the best in our recent history. His incisive and illuminating judgments will remain a strong testimony to his service to the legal profession. A true legal colossus has rested. We join in praying for the repose of his soul and pray to God to comfort and provide for all he left behind.” Mrs. Funke Adekoya, SAN, said: “The Bar and Bench have lost another icon, our own Lord Denning. He was one of the greatest philosopher judges Nigeria has produced and his judgments always displayed an interplay between law and morality. He has gone to rest, but remains with us through his judgments and legal writings.” Malam Yusuf Ali, SAN, said: “Justice Oputa’s death is a great loss, not only to Nigeria and Nigerians but to the Commonwealth nations. He was a renowned jurist, who was cast in the mode of Lord Denning. He was classified with first brain. There was no legal problem he could not tackle. He was extraordinary and he was an orator, who could not be waved aside. He will be solely be missed by all.” Ms Carol Ajie, “I join with so many others on the passing of the Socrates of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Justice Oputa; that in his passing we celebrate the end of a very long and quintessential life. The measure of a life well-lived is not in what possessions one has accumulated, but rather through the lives we influenced. Proudly and confidently that his indeed was a life superbly- lived. Consoled in knowing that his loss is felt by all. Rest in perfect peace. Amen.” Early life: The late Chukwudifu was born to Chief Oputa Izukwu and Madam Nwanetu Oputa on September 22, 1924 in Oguta, Imo State. He had his early education at Sacred Heart School, Oguta and Christ the King College, Onitsha, Anambra State. Teaching appointment After this, the young Oputa went to Yaba Higher College, Lagos, but due to the exigencies of the Second World War, was sent along with others to the famous Achimota College, Ghana, then Gold Coast. There he graduated B.Sc (Hon) Economics in 1945. After this he returned to Nigeria and took up a teaching appointment with Calabari National College. He later came to Lagos where he worked as an ADO (Assistant District Officer). It was there that Justice Oputa achieved a remarkable feat: He studied at home and obtained his BA (Hon) History. Justice Oputa then proceeded to London where he got his LLB (Hon) and was called to Bar in Gray’s Inn, London. Legal practice: Upon his return to Nigeria, Oputa went into brilliant and successful private practice, handling such celebrated cases and special inquiries as the Oguta Chieftaincy dispute 1958/ 59, the Amanyanabo Dispute 1956/ 60 and many more. In 1966, Justice Oputa was appointed Judge of the High Court of the then Eastern Nigeria and moved on to become the first Chief Judge of Imo State 10 years later. In 1984, he was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He retired from the bench of the Supreme Court in 1989. Oputa Panel: He was appointed to investigate abuses during 15 years of military rule, which ended when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo took office as elected president on May 29, 1999. The Oputa panel examined human rights abuses when President Obasanjo was in power previously as a military ruler from 1976 to 1979. The decision followed demands for a thorough investigation of rights abuses in Nigeria since independence in 1960. Justice Oputa published over 40 papers in lectures, conferences and seminars. Justice Oputa was a dedicated family man exemplarily devoted to his beautiful wife Margaret and his lovely children.

Generator fume kills family of 7 in Lagos

LAGOS—Bagido area of Ijede Lagos, was weekend thrown into mourning following the discovery of the decomposing bodies of a man, his wife and five children in their building. The man identified as Etim Edet was reportedly a staff of Nigeria Brewery Plc. The family of seven was suspected to have been killed by fume from a power generator mounted in the house. The late Etim, was reported to have been last seen at his place of work on April 25, 2014. Apprehension reportedly set in following his absence on April 28, without prior notice, an action his colleagues described as unusual. Tension heightened over his continued absence till Friday, with calls on his mobile telephone unanswered. Some of his colleagues said to have gone to check on him at home became curious following the stench that was emanating from the building. Consequently, policemen from Ijede division were alerted and when the door was forced open, the decomposing bodies were discovered. The bodies included that of Edet, his second wife, his 17- year-old eldest son from his first wife, a female relation, whose age was put between 14 and 15 years and three other children born by the second wife, aged seven, five and three years respectively. A resident, who identified himself as Mr Ayodele Disu told Vanguard that the Edets could have been rescued had there been houses around theirs. Police sources explained that power generator fume was suspected as the cause, following the discovery of a 3.5 KVA power generator there. Describing the incident as sudden and unnatural death, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide said: “At about 4.00pm, one Etim Edet , a staff of Nigeria Brewery Plc Lagos was allegedly found dead with his wife and five children on their beds at his residence at Bagido area of Ijede. “No sign of violence was seen on their bodies. The deceased’s were suspected to have died from generator fumes.

People laugh when I say I’m a DJ – Frizzie

Frances Higgwe hit the limelight when she did the female version of ‘Wizkid’s Holla At Your Boy’ titled ’Don’t Holla At Me Boy’. Known as DJ Frizzie in the Nigerian entertainment landscape, she is one of Nigeria’s foremost female DJs who is giving the guys a run for their money. In this interview, she reveals how the journey began for her among other issues. When I finished secondary school in 2005, I actually had to stay home for a year because my JAMB result was cancelled and at that period, I was doing my A levels. I visited my cousin one day and I stumbled on a virtual DJ software which I got crazy about because of my love for computers and soft -wares. I love working with my hands. When I stumbled on this DJ soft ware, I went home, installed it and started playing around with it. What actually intrigued me about it was that you can actually move from one song to another without stopping the beat. I love the beat-matching aspect. That was how it began. Before I stumbled on the software, I hadn’t heard of the word DJ. I took the software to school, and whenever my friends were throwing a party, I was always excited to play for them. I was doing it only for the passion then. When I was in school, I wasn’t a social person. I could stay indoors all day. Being a female DJ is bigger than what people see. Using myself as an example, I had challenges from my family because my mother wanted me to work with my certificate as an Environmental Engineer, probably in an oil company. The DJ career is not something people see as responsible. Before now, the music industry was seen as one for irresponsible people. At some point, my mum started taking me to pastors to talk to me. But the pastors saw that I really wanted to do what I wanted to do. There is always this fear of sexual harassment and security .The perception people have about female DJs also poses a challenge. They believe you might not be able to deliver because you are a female. There is also the issue of gender discrimination, people just don’t trust a female DJ to deliver the way a male would. I have never been heartbroken. Heartbreak is a very big word but I have been deeply disappointed. I am not engaged to anybody neither am I planning to get married now but my friends support me in my career. Dress-wise, I love to wear shorts but not bum-shorts and I also love Tee shirts. One of my unforgettable moments was when a dude asked me what I am into and I told him I am a DJ. He just started laughing. I was so embarrassed and when I asked him what’s on his mind, he said to me; ‘Can anyone ever hire a female DJ?’. He later apologised, saying he didn’t mean to offend me. I was hurt and I actually cried. I believe there will always be that doubtful mind that says a male can do it better than a female, but on the flipside, there are people that see it from another perspective that a female DJ will spice things up to make things look classy and different. Even though I don’t work with a radio station at the moment, I have had my club chat video mix on MTV base for like three times. I was part of Seyi Law’s Akure Must Laugh show. I am not just a female DJ, I am also an Environmental Engineer. I am only doing this for the love I have for the craft. I take my job serious like someone who works in a bank. As an entertainment brand, I am out to inspire others to stand up for what they believe in. It’s not just about me being a DJ, there are so many people’s destiny tied to mine who will be inspired to pursue their dreams just by my own example. I also write and produce music too. STAYING IN As an introvert or a shy person that does not like going out, these are some of the things you can do to keep you busy while at home; Arts and Crafts: Arts and crafts may bring flash-backs of pasty kindergarten fingers and construction paper, but the act of making something creative with your closest friends can be cathartic and fun. Make cards for upcoming holidays or birthdays, or put together some wall art for your new room or apartment. Use this time to let loose your inner child and let your creativity run rampant. Housework: Dusting furniture and mopping floors can scarcely be considered fun and appealing…on it’s own perhaps. But show your bestie “how you roll” with housekeeping by cranking up your favorite music and dancing your chores to completion. You will feel both productive and cheerful when accompanied by your companion. If necessary, bribe them with baked foods in return for their help with your janitorial tasks. GOING OUT Going out with your best friend could be as basic as grabbing a coffee together or as formal as seeing a symphony. Here are some excellent ideas for exploring the world with your friends. Friend Date: Need some one-on-one time with your best friend? Plan a friend date together. Stop by a local coffee shop or your favorite restaurant for a few hours of catching up. If you are in the mood for something a bit more special, try dressing up and making reservations one evening at a fancy restaurant. Concerts: Bonding through music is a major best friend phenomenon. Find one of your mutually-favorite bands or artistes and make a trip to see them live. In the summer especially, outdoor concerts are a great way to bring out the audiophile in all of us.

Abducted girls must be found, Jonathan gives Shettima marching order

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has been giving a marching order that abducted girls must be found. President Goodluck Jonathan gave this mandate to the governor during an all night meeting that ended in the early hours of Sunday. The meeting had in attendance the President, Vice president, Senate President, Secretary to the Government and Service Chiefs and many others. The meeting began at 9.00pm Saturday when President Goodluck Jonathan arrived. Shettima arrived in company of the Borno State Commissioner of Education, the principal of the Government Secondary School, Chibok and some parents of the abducted girls. Also as part of measures to ensure a hitch-free World Economic Forum this week, the Federal Government has approved that all Government Offices and Schools within the Federal Capital Territory,be shut down. This was contained in a press statement issued Friday by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator Anyim Piis Anyim. However, the statement also indicated that those on essential services, are to be exempted. According to the SGF:” Private Organisations with large number of staff may also wish to close down.” Anyim further stated that this is to ease the flow of traffic within the city and enable participants carry out their assigned roles and participate actively at the World Economic Forum Africa. More details soon

Washington vows to help fight Boko Haram

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) – US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday vowed that Washington will do “everything possible” to help Nigeria deal with Boko Haram militants, following the kidnapping of scores of schoolgirls. “Let me be clear. The kidnapping of hundreds of children by Boko Haram is an unconscionable crime,” Kerry said in a policy speech in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. “We will do everything possible to support the Nigerian government to return these young women to their homes and hold the perpetrators to justice. That is our responsibility and the world’s responsibility,” he said. The US, he added, was “working to strengthen Nigeria’s institutions and its military to combat Boko Haram’s campaign of terror and violence”. Gunmen believed to be Islamist fighters stormed the girls’ boarding school in the country’s northeast nearly three weeks ago, forcing them from their dormitories onto trucks and driving them into the bush after a gun battle with soldiers. Nigerian police on Friday said Boko Haram militants were holding 223 girls of the 276 seized from the school, revising upwards the number of youngsters abducted. The girls’ abduction has triggered global outrage and prompted protests in a number of Nigerian cities, as desperate parents call on the government to secure their release. Nigerian mothers on Saturday vowed to hold more protests to push a greater rescue effort from authorities. “We need to sustain the message and the pressure on political and military authorities to do everything in their power to ensure these girls are freed,” protest organiser Hadiza Bala Usman told AFP. She said that women and mothers will on Tuesday march to the offices of the defence minister and chief of defence staff “to ask them what they are doing to rescue our daughters”. “We believe there is little or no effort for now on the part of the military and government to rescue these abducted girls, who are languishing in some dingy forest,” she said. Nigeria’s information minister, Labaran Maku, said on Friday that President Goodluck Jonathan had chaired a top- level meeting with military and security chiefs about a possible rescue mission. The mass kidnapping is one of the most shocking attacks in Boko Haram’s five-year extremist uprising, which has killed thousands across the north and centre of the country, including 1,500 people this year alone. A car bombing in Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Thursday that killed 19 has fuelled fears that the Islamist group may be shifting its focus outside of its historic base in Nigeria’s remote northeast.

#BringBackOurGirls: “We cannot continue to be big brother for nothing”

ABUJA (AFP) – Desperate parents of the more than 200 abducted schoolgirls in Nigeria called on Saturday for authorities there to bring in foreign help to secure their release. Frustrated by the lack of progress so far in trying to free their daughters, the parents called on Nigerian authorities to use support from other countries. “By all means, lets get the support we need from global players,” a former World Bank vice president, Obiageli Ezekwesili, said in a televised interview. She was speaking at the venue of a sit-in protest organised by dozens of mothers and women in Abuja in support of the release of the girls. “What these women are saying is that they want their daughters freed,” added Ezekwesili. The women vowed to sustain their pressure on the Nigerian authorities to secure the release of 223 schoolgirls still being held by suspected Boko Haram Islamists. Nigerian police on Friday put the figure at 223 out of 276 girls seized on April 14 from their school in Chibok, in the country’s northeast, revising upwards the number of youngsters abducted. School and government officials in the northeastern state of Borno had previously given lower figures on the number of girls being held. Gunmen believed to be Islamist fighters stormed the girls’ boarding school, forcing them from their dormitories onto trucks and driving them into the bush. “We need the support of other nations. We cannot just continue to be big brother for nothing,” said another woman protester. The Nigerian government said that it has set up a committee, presided over by a senior army general, to advise it on a mission to secure the release of the girls. Isa Umar Gusau, spokesman of Borno state government, said that the state has been given three slots on the committee. A father of one of the abducted girls in Chibok dismissed the effectiveness of this committee, expected to be inaugurated on Tuesday. “Our frustration is increasing with every passing day…why can’t the government seek assistance from other nations?,” asked the parent, who demanded anonymity. “Government sets up committees but the findings and recommendations of such committees are never implemented. This committee set up will not be different from other ones.” US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday vowed that Washington will do “everything possible” to help Nigeria deal with Boko Haram militants. “Let me be clear. The kidnapping of hundreds of children by Boko Haram is an unconscionable crime,” Kerry said in a policy speech in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. “We will do everything possible to support the Nigerian government to return these young women to their homes and hold the perpetrators to justice. That is our responsibility and the world’s responsibility,” he said. Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan was expected to meet in Abuja the Borno state governor, Kashim Shettima, and the head teacher of the Chibok school from where the girls were kidnapped. The Nigerian leader is also scheduled to hold a radio and television chat Sunday evening “on current national issues and developments”, his office said in a statement. Jonathan “will respond to the most significant questions received before or during the programme,” it said. - ‘What are they doing?’ - Nigerian mothers on Saturday vowed to hold more protests to push a greater rescue effort from authorities. “We need to sustain the message and the pressure on political and military authorities to do everything in their power to ensure these girls are freed,” protest organiser Hadiza Bala Usman told AFP. She said that women and mothers will on Tuesday march to the offices of the defence minister and chief of defence staff “to ask them what they are doing to rescue our daughters”. “We believe there is little or no effort for now on the part of the military and government to rescue these abducted girls, who are languishing in some dingy forest,” she said. The mass kidnapping is one of the most shocking attacks in Boko Haram’s five-year extremist uprising, which has killed thousands across the north and centre of the country, including 1,500 people this year alone. A car bombing in Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Thursday that killed 19 has fuelled fears that the Islamist group may be shifting its focus outside of its historic base in Nigeria’s remote northeast.

FCT Minister appeals to Nyanya blast victims’ relations to claim corpses

The FCT Minister, Sen. Bala Mohammed, has appealed to relatives of the 20 persons who died in the May 1 Nyanya bomb blast to come forward to claim the corpses. Mohammed made the appeal yesterday in Abuja after visiting four FCT General Hospitals where some of the corpses were kept and the injured victims were receiving treatment. The minister, who visited the Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse and Gwarinpa hospitals, said the morgues had been overstretched and the victims’ relatives had not claimed any of their corpses for burial. “The FCT Administration has agreed with the police to release the corpses to the victims’ relations, because the morgues are overstretched. They need to claim them with full evidence. “I have directed the Secretary, FCT Health Secretariat, Dr Ademola Onakomaiya, to release ambulances to carry the corpses to various destinations where they will be buried,’’ he said. The minister said he was pleased that the injured victims were also being given adequate attention. He said the patients, who are confirmed as FCT indigenes, would be given Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) services. Mohammed said the sum of N1 million had been given as a form of support to the victims by a corporate organisation. Meanwhile, the minister has given a seven-day ultimatum to the FCT Task Force to clear all the debris at the scene of the bomb blast. He also gave a three-day ultimatum to the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to get a conducive environment for the relocation of the park. “I am giving seven days to the FCT Task Force to clear all the blast debris, second-hand vehicles and traders away from the Nyanya corridor. The FCDA will provide alternative place for the car dealers. “I am happy that the Village Head of Nyanya has offered his support to point at houses whose owners had been compensated by the FCTA for demolition.’’ Mohammed said also that President Goodluck Jonathan had ordered the FCT Administration (FCTA) to build standard motor parks in the territory. “The FCTA will no longer build parks by the roadside again,’’ he said. Speaking with newsmen also, Malam Haruna Shaibu, the Chief of Nyanya, advised that all areas earmarked for demolition should be removed to enable government dualise the road. “Government has marked from the roadside to Nyanya Area `C’ and Gwagwalape for demolition. “The General Hospital is also affected and all these affected areas should be compensated before demolishing them,’’ he said. Earlier, Onakomaiya had confirmed that 66 persons were injured while 20 were confirmed dead in the wake of the May 1 blast. He said 42 of the 66 persons had been discharged, while four others left against medical advice, claiming that they were not residing in the FCT. “Only 20 persons are currently receiving treatment,’’ Onakomaiya said.(NAN)