Justice Nabaruma, fine jurist, gentleman –Ben Obi

Senator Ben Obi has described the late Chief Justice of Yobe State, Justice Garuba Nabaruma, as a fine jurist and gentleman, whose tribunal judgments were not reversed by higher courts.

Part of his release on Nabaruma read:  “I was very sad on hearing about the demise of Honourable Justice Musa Garba Nabaruma. I received the news of his unfortunate death  with rude shock. He was a complete, perfect jurist with a touch  of gentility both in mien and character.”

In commending his contributions to jurisprudence, Obi said: “The Nigerian legal system cannot be complete without mentioning his immense contributions towards enriching its jurisprudence, especially his audacious pronouncements on electoral cases that later became a veritable legal precedence in the Nigerian legal system.”

Besides heading the Tribunal that returned  Mr. Peter Obi in Anambra State and Olusegun Mimiko in Ondo, Obi recalled   “how my long legal battle to reclaim my stolen mandate as a senator received judiciary pronouncement when Justice Nabaruma, as head of the election petition tribunal  alongside other eminent jurists, gave an unassailable judgment declaring me the rightful winner of the 2003 senatorial election to represent Anambra  central. This Judgment alongside that of Senator Joy Emordi were the first of its kind across the nation in our current democratic dispensation. That landmark judgement followed suit with his audacious ruling on the 2003 Anambra governorship election petition, were he once again, set another remarkable precedence by restoring the mandate of the rightful winner in the governorship election, and in the process removed a seating governor, after painstakingly going through the petition that took years to conclude.  It takes a man of boldness, courage and character to do such, at a time it was considered a ‘no go area’ in our nascent democracy.”