Foremost Lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, J. S Okutepa has paid tribute to Hon. Justice Chima Centus Nweze, who died on the 29th of July, 2o23, referring to him as a quintessential legal asset.
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Accorded to the learned silk, the legal profession has lost one of the finest and intellectual justice and legal gurus on the Supreme Court Bench. He noted that while Hon. Justice Nweze JSC in his words “may not be perfect and couldn’t have been perfect and he was not a saint”, there was no doubt whatsoever that he was a good judicial officer with huge judicial erudition of extraordinary depth and knowledge.
Furthermore, the learned silk established His Lordship to be an asset to the legal profession and a great jurist to be missed by the legal profession. Describing the learned justice, Okutepa SAN wrote thus: “His professorial command of language was unparalleled. He was a quintessential legal asset. Few of his lordships decisions and judgments and or contributions showed the great jurist we have lost in the Legal profession.”
He went on to recall some pronouncements of His Lordship thus:
“Hear vintage CC Nweze JSC, as he then was now of blessed memory in some few judgments.
“On their part, secured creditors must henceforth painstakingly examine such consent letters purporting to convey approval of their mortgage transactions with the finery of a toothcomb. Hence, the new maxim in all secured credit transactions should be: Creditors beware.” See P.I.P. Ltd vs. Trade Bank (Nig.) Ltd. [2009] 13 NWLR (Pt.1159) 577 at 626, Para. H
“Before concluding this judgment, I want to express my reservations about the advocacy style of the respondent’s counsel in this appeal. Counsel, even if they are partisan politicians, should learn to draw a line between the modus operandi of politicians and the attitude of courts of law to issues verging on trickery. If politicians gain electoral victory by false pretenses, a court of law, nay more, the court of equity, must be spared the contempt of being employed as an instrument of advancing electoral fraud. See C.C. Nweze, JSC in Umar vs. APC [2018] 18 NWLR (Pt.1650) 131 at 152, G-H
“To argue that a fraction of a day is equal to a whole day involves the ineradicable fallacy of making a part equal to a whole. Such an interpretation would be an assault on common-sense and would do violence to the plain-meaning of words. To avoid regarding part of a day as a whole day, the day on which the event happened is usually excluded from the computation.” See C.C. Nweze, JSC in Yakubu vs. F.R.N. [2023] 1 NWLR (Pt.1864) 145-6, Per G-A.
“It is the profound wisdom ingrained in the aphorism which Social Ethicists left behind for an avaricious humanity, namely, amo habemo habendi crescit: the love of having increases with having. In other words, there would be no limit to the cravings for material things unless people rein in their unquenchable appetite for them. After all, they are notable only for their evanescence.” See CC Nweze, JSC in Ezekiel vs. A.-G. Fed [2017] 12 NWLR (Pt.1578) 1 at 20, Paras. C-H
According to the learned silk, these few immutable pronouncements of Nweze JSC are evidence of the jurist we have lost. “His lordship was a rare gem. His lordship was a legal colossus. He spoke to every case with clear language and understanding. Let us hear his lordship again” Okutepa SAN said. In addition he stated thus: As rightly asked by one of my colleagues in chambers, “How can our finest be snatched by faceless death!” Rest on Mr. Justice C.C. Nweze, JSC!!”
In conclusion, he prayed that as His lordship “appear before the supreme judge, may God decide his case expeditiously and tamper justice with mercy!!!.” Also, he prayed that may the good lord have mercy on His Lordship’s soul and grant him eternal rest from unhygienic and polluted Nigerian judicial environment where he noted, all manners of pressures are piled on the judex. “Rest in peace my lord.” J.S.Okutepa SAN crowned his tribute.
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