Nigerian flags at half-mast over death of former chief justice

22 February 2019 · Carmel Rickard

NIGERIA’S judiciary declared seven days of mourning after the death of a former chief justice last month. Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, who was buried on 24 October, 2018, was 78, and had served as chief justice from 2007 to 2009.

Retired Chief Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi attended university in Nigeria and in the UK. Called to the bar in the mid-1960s, he served as the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Niger State before joining the judiciary.

After an illustrious career on the bench, he retired in 2009 having served as Nigeria’s 10^th chief justice from 2007 to 2009. He later returned to the bench as an acting high court judge until shortly before his death.

As a mark of the esteem in which he was held, the current chief justice, Justice Walter Onnoghen, arranged for the country’s flag to fly at half-mast for a week outside all judicial institutions including the Supreme Court, as well as outside the official residence of the chief justice.

Carmel Rickard

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