A retired military officer, Colonel Bello Fadile, has joined sympathisers to mourn the demise of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais GCON, who died June 6 at the age of 89.
Fadile, a prominent figure and author, paid a heartfelt tribute to the late jurist, describing him as “My Father in the Judiciary.”
He recounted the remarkable story of how Justice Uwais, then CJN, intervened on his behalf during his detention in 1995, prevailing on the military regime to ensure his release.
He highlighted Justice Uwais’s unwavering commitment to justice, humility, and integrity.
He quoted Uwais’s powerful statement: “A corrupt judge is more harmful to society than a man who runs amok with a dagger in a crowded street.”
Part of the statement read: “At the ripe age of 89, he left us in this sinful world as Allah SWT willed. We accept the verdict as the appeal lies nowhere. To the immediate families, we pray to Allah SWT to give us the fortitude to carry on relying on the principles he lived by and left for us, which are: humility, impartiality, humanity, love, detribalised, uprightness and fear of Almighty Allah SWT.
“And to the Nigerian judiciary, which he dedicated his life to, I urge you all to follow his footsteps, which he captured brilliantly;
‘A corrupt judge is more harmful to society than a man who runs amok with a dagger in a crowded street. The latter can be restrained physically. But a corrupt judge deliberately destroys the moral foundation of society and causes incalculable distress to individuals through abusing his office while still being referred to as Honourable.”
“As captured in my book, Lives: The Bello Fadile Memoirs, I shall forever be grateful to MyLord, the Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais GCON, for the risk he took when I was arrested for the alleged fathom coup in 1995.”
