Eminent retired justice of the Supreme Court, Paul Nwokedi, passed on after a brief illness at his Enugu home on Sunday, September 10 at the grand age of 91. He would be greatly missed by all and especially the legal profession where he left giant footprints.

Nwokedi had his early education at Holy Trinity School, Onitsha, and was at St. Gregory’s College, Lagos, for his secondary school education before proceeding to the London School of Economics to study Law. Before his law study, however, he sat as a private candidate and obtained the BA London from Nigeria.

The deceased was originally an activist. As a student of St. Gregory’s College, Lagos, he was active in the movement for black emancipation and later independence. At St. John’s School Aroloya in Lagos, he was a pioneer member of the Committee of Students which later metamorphosed into the Zikist Movement. As he explained, it was to another nationalist group, the Nigerian Improvement, which itself later evolved into the Action Group, that they initially wrote to, but apparently because they did not get a response, young Nwokedi and his group of nationalist students decided to team up with the Zikist Movement. Under the umbrella of this student’s body, they contributed their quota to the issues of the day and the groundswell of momentum for independence.

It was in the midst of these agitations for independence that Nwokedi left for the United Kingdom to fulfill his dream of becoming a lawyer. He was admitted to the prestigious London School of Economics and he graduated with distinction. Upon graduation from the London School of Economics, he practised law for 17 years before joining the services of then East Central State as a judge of the High Court. Nwokedi rose through the ranks meritoriously to become the Chief Judge of old Anambra State and later the new Anambra State. 

Justice Nwokedi was one of the few judges, who achieved the remarkable distinction of moving from the State High Court to the Supreme Court. Nwokedi initially resisted the elevation until it was explained to him that his promotion was based solely on merit. This is in contradistinction to what obtains these days when candidates lobby intensely, and many times, unfairly  to get elevated into the hallowed chambers of law places reserved exclusively for the best.

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It was no surprise, therefore, that Nwokedi served meritoriously and with impeachable integrity throughout his time at the Supreme Court. His judgments,  as captured in the law reports, set him aside as a fine and courageous  officer in the temple of justice with exceptional intellectual ability. He was in the rank of Justices Kayode Eso, Chukwudifu Oputa, Teslim Elias and Muhammed Uwais and others.  The late Justice was an erudite lawyer and incorruptible judge. His integrity was of a class that we may not easily find today, especially when one considers some of the unsavory allegations that have been flying around in recent times. 

Even after retirement from the apex court in the land, Justice Nwokedi was still a much sought after personality. He was appointed the pioneer Chairman of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Chairman of the Law Review Commission which position he held for four years. It is on record that government wanted him to continue to render services to the country perhaps in other capacities to which he politely declined. He realised that he was getting tired and did not think himself irreplaceable and believed that others should be given the chance to serve also.

In making these decisions, he showed himself to be a true mentor to the generations of leaders and public servants coming after him. It was the same attitude he exhibited when his people invited him to be the traditional ruler of his community. He passed it off to his younger brother instead.

We commiserate with the people and government of old Anambra State (present Anambra and Enugu states) whom he served with distinction, his family and colleagues for the irreparable loss.  May his gentle soul rest in peace.