Jonathan, Atiku, Ihedioha mourn Oputa

President Goodluck Jonathan, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, have eulogised late eminent jurist, Justice Akunne Chukwudifu Oputa.
In statements by their aides on Monday, the eminent Nigerians described Oputa in flowery words.
Jonathan said he received with a deep feeling of immense national loss, the news of the passing away of Oputa, who died on Sunday.
The statement by presidential aide, Dr. Reuben Abati, said further: “On behalf of himself, the Federal Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President extends sincere condolences to the eminent jurist’s family, relatives, associates and friends.
“As they mourn the passage of the retired Justice of the Supreme Court who will always be remembered, amongst other career highlights, for his celebrated chairmanship of Nigeria’s Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission 14 years ago, President Jonathan urges them to be comforted by the knowledge that Justice Oputa lived a long, very fulfilled and achievement-laden life.
“The President believes that Justice Oputa will always be honoured now and in posterity for having served the nation as a most distinguished and courageous jurist who made very significant and indelible contributions to the advancement of Nigerian jurisprudence.
“President Jonathan is confident that although Justice Oputa has now left the world of the living, the late jurist will be long remembered for his spirited legal activism and will continue to serve as a splendid role model for present and future generations of Nigerian judges.
“He prays that God Almighty will receive Justice Oputa’s soul and grant him a well-deserved rest from his diligent and exemplary labours on earth.”
Abubakar, also a chieftain of All Progressives Congress, described Oputa as an extraordinary jurist with extraordinary pedigree.
In a tribute to Oputa issued by his media office in Abuja on Monday, Abubakar said the death of the retired Supreme Court Justice was like a huge branch being cut off from the nation’s judicial iroko tree.
According to him, apart from his extraordinary courage, the late Oputa was also a man of profound knowledge on account of which he was famously branded the “Socrates of the Supreme Court.”
He explained that for Oputa to earn this appellation from colleagues was a demonstration of his erudition and colossal stature.
Abubakar recalled that with no less than 358 judgements and rulings under his belt, the late Oputa was a giant of law not only in Nigeria, but also the rest of Africa.
The former vice president prayed for the repose of the late Oputa and condoled with his family on this irreparable loss.
Ihedioha described the death of Oputa as a huge national loss.
He said Oputa was a legal giant who bestrode the Nigerian jurisprudence as a colossus.
He also described the renowned jurist as a judicial activist who used his deep knowledge of the law to ensure social justice and the reformation of the Nigerian society.
Ihedioha recalled that Justice Oputa, who was former Chief Judge of old Imo State, served in the Supreme Court with distinction where he made landmark judicial pronouncements that earned him the appellations: Socrates of the Supreme Court and Lord Denning of Nigeria.
The Deputy Speaker also made reference to the role Oputa played as the Chairman of the Human Rights Violation Investigation Commission, otherwise known as the Oputa Panel, which was set up in 1999 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to ascertain the causes of gross abuses of human rights in Nigeria from 1960 to 1999.
According to the Deputy Speaker, the late jurist discharged the assignment with uncommon brilliance and competence, which won him national and international accolades.
He noted that Justice Oputa was a deep thinker and philosopher who left indelible footprints in the sands of time, adding that with his death, a big vacuum has been created in the judicial system of Nigeria.
Ihedioha commiserated with the Oputa family of Oguta, the people of Imo State and Nigeria for the sad loss and prayed God to grant his soul eternal repose.