The sleepy community of Oguta in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State, hometown of late eminent jurist, Justice Chukwudifu Akunne Oputa hosted an unprecedented crowd of mourners. The crowd was as large as it was made up of the crème de la crème of Nigeria who turned up to pay their last respects to the late Justice of the Supreme Court.
Judging by the glamour and fanfare, one could easily mistake the funeral for a cultural festival. The young and old came out in large numbers to celebrate the man that brought them fame and honour.
Traditional funeral rites befitting such a titled man were secretly done probably to escape the wrath of the church, while traditionalists added colour to the event with their bright costumes and traditional dances. Justice Oputa meant a lot to everybody.
One elder, Udoka Okafor said Oputa was a titled man who should be given a befitting burial in line with the traditions of the land but for the fear of possible sanctions by the church, which was officially allowed to perform the burial rites. This caused the traditional aspect of the ceremony to be played down.
At the church which is just a few poles away from the Oputas’ home, security men had a hectic time controlling the surging crowd.
The Presiding Priest and Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Reverend Matthew Hassan Kukah, in his sermon, urged Nigerians to rise up in the defence of Justice and Equity, stressing that the late Oputa, during his life time was obsessed with the concept of Justice and Equity.
He stated that the late Supreme Court Judge lived a life of patriotism and service and left legacies that are beyond his immediate family, adding that members of the Supreme Court should be taken more seriously, given their contributions to the development and stability of the nation.
Kukah said that Oputa’s ability and capacity to manage people, is something that his people should be proud of, adding that for a man that held his kind of position to tolerate a son like Charly Boy, was a measure of his greatness.
The cleric noted that Nigerians will remember the late Oputa in the temple of Justice this was where he excelled. “Our leaders should work for justice, equity and fairness. I believe that the history of human rights cannot be complete without mentioning the late Justice Oputa”.
Opening the flood of tributes, President Goodluck Jonathan, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, described the late Oputa as a respected public servant, patriot and internationally acclaimed jurist.
He said: “It is on record that in his long service to our country, he distinguished himself and left behind an enviable legacy which the entire Oputa family can be rightly proud of. He was not only an outstanding legal icon, he also readily gave of himself in the service of our fatherland in the demonstration of his faith in the emergence of a strong, united and prosperous Nigeria”.
In his condolence massage, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said Oputa served the country efficiently in various capacities throughout a distinguished career as the Judge of the High Court of the then Eastern Nigeria, from where he rose, steadily, to seat as a Justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court. Justice Oputa will be remembered as one of the pillars of the noble profession in this country.
“Personally, I deeply value the way he handled the affairs of the Oputa Panel which I instituted in 2001 to investigate human rights abuses in Nigeria from 1979-1999. He gave it all, with commitment and a very high sense of duty, despite his short tenure as Chairman of the Panel”, he wrote.
In her letter of condolence, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, said that Oputa was a respected member of the Supreme Court bench who contributed his very best to the Court and the development of law.
Earlier, the Imo State Government has organized a Special Day of Tribut in honour of the late jurist who was described as a pillar of justice, fairness and equity by prominent indigenes of the State who showered encomiums on him.
Speaking at the event which held at the International Conference Centre, the state governor, Rochas Okorocha said the late legal giant was a source of pride and honour to not only Ndigbo but the entire nation.
He observed that the famous Oputa Panel report would have helped the nation a lot if it had been implemented, adding that Nigerians should know when to play politics and when to unite for a common goal.
“What is important in the life of every individual is the legacy left behind and not the date of birth,” Okorocha said. “The quality of a man’s life cannot be measured by the amount of wealth he acquired while alive, but by the legacies he left behind”.
Naming the State Judiciary complex under construction after the late Jurist, Okorocha, called on Nigerians to emulate the lives of men like Oputa, Ojukwu and Mbakwe, among others.
The State Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere, said that Oputa lived a life that is worthy of celebration, priding that his contributions to the development of the judiciary and landmark judgments will continue to speak volume about him.
The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Uwajumogu described the late Oputa as a colossus and an eminent jurist, who died while upholding the integrity and sanctity of the legal profession.
The Speaker stated further that Justice Oputa remained one of the greatest and celebrated jurists Imo State and Nigeria ever produced, maintaining that his eloquence in the delivery of landmark judgments, as well as his good mastery of the Law earned him the title, ‘Socrates’ of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
He said that the late legal Icon, who was versed in the art of philosophy, letters and oratory, was also a devout Christian and regretted that Justice Oputa passed on at a time when the state and the Country were ready to tap from his enormous wealth of experience.
