The remains of the former Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Mohammad Bello, was laid to rest at the Isa Kaita road cemetery, Malali, Kaduna at the weekend.
Justice Mohammad Bello died last Thursday at the age of 74 at the S. T. Joseff’s ho-spital, Wiesbaden, Germany, after a protracted illness. As at yesterday evening, sympathizers were still calling at his No. 19, Inuwa Wada road, Kaduna.
The body of the former chief justice from Katsina State arrived Kaduna at about11 a.m. last Saturday and was taken immediately to the Sultan Bello mosque at Ung-uwar Sarki, where prayers were led by the Chief Imam of the mosque, Sheikh (Dr) Ahmed Abubakar Gumi.
At the funeral soon after the prayers were former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, Speaker, House of Representatives, Bello Masari, Governor Musa Yar’Adua, Justices Mamman Nasir, Bashir Wali, the Emirs of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris and Daura, Muhammadu Bashar.
Others at the funeral include, Generals Mohammed Jega, Mohammed Wu-shishi, Buba Marwa, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, Alhaji Wada Nas, Justice Alfa Belgore, General Garba Duba, Alhaji Lawal Batagarawa among others.
A former judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Bello became Chief Justice of the Federation in 1975 after a brilliant legal career in the former Northern region and North central State.
After his retirement, Justice Bello was active in the promotion of tolerance and peace. He was a member of the General Purposes Committee of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, JNI and Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF).
Meanwhile, the governor of Ebonyi State, Chief Sam O. Egwu has sent his condolence message to the family of the late Chief Judge, government of Katsina and Kaduna States. According to the letter, Chief Egwu said he received the news of the passing of Justice Bello with deep shock and sadness.
Governor Egwu said that with his demise, the nation has lost one of her foremost legal luminaries, a leading light in the unequivocal dispensation of justice to all and indeed a “guru” who paid no attention to primordial sentiments of ethnicism and religion in the discharge of his duties.
He declared that the death of the illustrious Nigeria exposes a vacuum, which will be difficult to fill because “Honourable Bello was a quintessential legal mind, who could not brook injustice, falsehood and evil of all shades, no matter how compelling and a rare breed, who is a member of fast receding older generation that set standards by diligence, discipline and the rule of law.”
Also, the president of the Senate, Chief Adolphus Wabara, said he received the news of the death of Justice Mohammed Bello with shock and prayed that Al mighty Allah will grant his gentle soul eternal rest.
“Chief Wabara remem-bers Justice Bello as an eminent jurist and a staunch advocate for the rule of law,” and recalled that even as Chief Justice of the Federation while the nation was under a military regime, Justice Bello refused to lower judicial standards or compromise in any way, abiding strictly to the tenets of the noble profession.
In his condolence, Speaker of the House of Repres-entatives, Aminu Bello Masari, said he was shocked at the news of the death of Justice Bello whom he described as a reservoir of knowledge and a believer in the rule of law, adding that his death was a huge loss to Nigeria.
He said that he was always touched by the depth of late Justice Bello’s humility, adding that inspite of his lofty achievements and the high offices he occupied and retired from, late Justice Bello was always conscious of the reality of the common people’s situation.
Masari said that the judiciary must ensure that the constructive efforts of the late Chief Justice of Nigeria are not lost, but are brought to the benefit of the generality of Nigerians by const-antly keeping the high moral and professional standards that he exhibited.
Also in a condolence message, the national vice chairman of the PDP (North West zone), Dr Bello H. Mohammed, said the news of the death came as a shock.
“The transition of the eminent jurist is no doubt a loss to the nation particularly the judiciary where he left indelible marks culminating in his elevation to the enviable seat of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN),” he said.
“He was a man who devoted his entire life to the prom-otion of worthy values, good character and an impeccable service to the judiciary and humanity at large,” he said.
“For us in the northern political circle where the barometer of Nigerian politics is gauged, we are most saddened at the loss of this great personality of our time who turned out to be one of the best gifts of the North to the entire nation and the entire world at large.”
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