Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad, Mr Femi Falana (SAN) and some others, on Friday paid tribute to legal icon, Chief Wole Olanipekun, as he attained 70 years of age.
The dignitaries spoke in Lagos at the Wole Olanipekun Justice Summit organised to celebrate Olanipekun’s 70th birthday annivesary and 45 years in the legal profession.
The summit had the theme: “Implementing Justice Sector Reform in Nigeria, Connecting the Disconnect”.
Osinbajo described Olanipekun as an outstanding mind in the legal profession, adding that he had affected lives of many especially the less privileged.
“I thank God that the tribute made today is not at his memorial service,” he said.
Osinbajo said that many conversations he had with Olanipekun dwelt on the integrity of the legal profession and the actors in the legal profession.
In his tribute, the CJN said that Olanipekun was a promoter of the rule of law, adding that he pursued every case he handled to a logical conclusion.
The CJN was represented by Justice Olukoya Arinwola.
Muhammad described Olanipekun as a man with a heart large enough to accommodate people from all walks of life.
He added that Olanipekun was a dogged fighter for what he believed in.
He said, “It is not the number of years he has spent in the legal profession that makes him stand out but a simple exhibition of talent endowed to him by God”.
The keynote speaker, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, said that strict adherence to the rule of law and accountability should be the watchword of every judicial officer.
“When you look at the world’s justice law index, Nigeria ranks 108 out of 128 countries.
“The justice system in the country, despite laudable reform efforts at federal and state levels, continues to face multiple challenges.
“Significant hardship and anxiety are still the order of the day in Nigeria’s justice sector.
”To give legitimacy to justice, accountability for the action of every role actor within the sector is critical,” he said.
Falana, who spoke on: “Political Influence on Judicial appointment”, urged that the National Judicial Council should be headed by a retired chief justice, not a sitting one.
He argued that a sitting chief justice had heavy workload and would not need to be overburdened.
The senior advocate of Nigeria also said that the issue of governors recommending those to be made judges should be looked into.
He said, “We must go back to were we started and change the narrative and decide the type of court system we actually want.
“If we must have a judiciary which Chief Olanipekun is advocating, we must go back to the drawing board and take our judiciary away from politicians.”
Falana urged the Nigeria Bar Assosiation at state and the national levels to work together to achieve “the hudiciary of our dreams”.
He remarked that the customary court had been abandoned, noting that it handled majority of cases from the poor.
The Chief Judge of Borno, Justice Kashim Zannah, spoke on entrenching integrity and technology in the judiciary.
According to Zannah, integrity and technology stand out in justice sector reforms.
He said that in the absence of integrity, everything else would become worthless.
Zannah said that although efforts had been made to ensure that integrity was safeguarded, the judiciary was perceived as devoid of integrity.
“The issue of integrity is also bedevilling other nations of the world, I found out in a United Nations summit I attended.
“However, training of judicial officers was advocated.
“It has been made mandatory for judicial officers, to among other measures, take integrity tests even in my state,” he said.