A’Court justices adjourn cases to mourn colleagues

Justices of the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal on Monday adjourned all cases slated for hearing to mourn two of their colleagues who died in the stampede at Mina, Saudi Arabia, during this year’s Hajj.

Two justices of Appeal Court, Justice Abubakar Jega of the Abuja division and Justice Musa Alkali of the Ilorin division, were among the those who lost their lives last week Thursday in Saudia Arabia during the stampede.

At the resumed sitting of the Lagos Division on Monday, Justice Shagbaor Ikyegh called for a minute of silence in honour of the departed justices.

He later told lawyers who had appeared in court that their cases would not be able to go on and urged them to meet with the court’s registrars to fix new dates.

Justice Jega, who until his death was the presiding justice at the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, was at the Lagos Division on August 26, 2015, where read the lead judgment upholding the election of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode as the Governor of Lagos State.

Until the deaths of Justices Jega and Akali, the Appeal Court had a total of 90 justices across the country, following the elevation of 25 judges in 2014 by former President Goodluck Jonathan.