By Emmanuel Oladesu
Former Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing Alhaji Femi Okunnu has paid tribute to the deceased jurist, Isola Oluwa, saying that he left indelible marks.
He said his demise had robbed Lagos and Nigeria of an unblemished public servant who served the country to the best of his ability.
Okunnu, who spoke on the phone, recalled that Justice Oluwa delivered many landmark judgments, which became judicial precedents that enriched the bar and the bench.
He also described him as a great custodian of history, who was endowed with an enviable mental recall.
Okunnu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said Oluwa was an incorruptible judge, who shunned unethical practices during and after his active service years.
He said the retired judge laid an example of punctuality and discipline at the bench by not condoning lateness and laziness.
Okunnu said:”It was a great lesson. He was always punctual. At 9am, like his late brother, Justice Yaya Jinadu, he was on his seat in the court. If you were late to his court by one minute, you were out. It is a big lesson to our magistrates and judges today.”
Okunnu said Oluwa achieved greater fame through his landmark judgment in the case between the Lagos State Director of Pubblic Prosecution and Ejigbadero, the Lagos socialite, who was sentenced to death for the murder of Raji Oba in Alimoso.
He recalled that Ejigbadero’s alibi was that he was at the naming ceremony of his child during the murder, an argument punctured by the prosecution counsel, who paraded witnesses who described how the murder was committed.
Okunnu said”:It was a sensational case. Oluwa sentenced the socialite, Ejigbadero, owner of a nail industry at Mushin, to death. It was a famous judgment, which was affirmed by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. ”
The elder statesman also paid tribute to Oluwa for his contributions to the development of the Lagos State University, Ojo, which he served meritoriously as Pro-Chancellor.
He said:”He was the Chairman of Governing Council of LASU at a time when the institution was the best in Criminal Law among the universities in Nigeria.”
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To the legal luminary, Lagos traditional society will always cherish the role of the Oluwa family in the pre-colonial days when High Chief Hamad Tijani Oluwa lent a great support to the monarch, Eleko Esugbayi, to regain his lost throne.
He said the culture of community service has endured through the principled position of Justice Oluwa on Lagos affairs and the patriotic activities of other descendants, including the Lagos West All Progressives Congres (APC) leader, Chief Rabiu Oluwa, grandson of Tijani Oluwa.
Okunnu added:”Justice Oluwa’s death is a loss to Lagos and Nigeria. He was a great jurist who served Lagos and Nigeria well.
“Justice Oluwa was a great reservoir of historical knowledge and events in Nigeria and Lagos. He lost all that knowledge, which unfortunately he could not put down in writing, apart from his autobiography, which he released few years ago.
“He was the oldest old boy of Kings College, Lagos, which he left as school captain in 1938, with a large number of distinguished Nigerians in his set, including Chief Remi Fani-Kayode, Brig-Gen. Austin Peters and Prof. Anya.
“When you met him in the last couple of years, his memory was intact, despite his advanced age, as it was 50 years ago. He would tell you something as if he was in his late 40s and 50s.
“I pray to God to grant him Aljanna Fiddau.”
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