Civil society leaders before setting sail for ex-CJN condolence mission. (L-R) Dr Husseini Abdu, Princess Obels in green, Mallam Dalha Issa Fage in black @ the back, Dr Kole in red cap @ the back, Dr. Chermaine in green, Prof Jibrin Ibrahim, Cde John Odah in black @ the back and Prof Alemika. Absent are Festus Okoye, Salihu Lukman and Adagbo Onoja
A set of civil society leaders took their turn to commiserate with the family of ex-Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammed Uwais. The civil society leaders joined others in the late Justice Uwais family quarters in Asokoro, Abuja in prayers for the repose of the soul of the late CJN Monday in Abuja.
They particularly spent time with Hajiya Maryam Uwais, a leading civil society activist. She, amongst other civil society involvements, headed the Isa Wali Foundation, named after Mallam Isa Wali well known for writing newspaper articles canvassing and expanding the democratic space of women in northern Nigeria in the early 1960s.
Justice Uwais who passed away June 6th, 2025 served as CJN from 1995 to 2006. Beyond that, he is well known for chairing the committee by the late president, Umaru Musa YarÁdua, to take another look at the electoral process in 2008. The outcome is what has become simply known as the Uwais Report in Nigeria and in constitutionalist circles far beyond Nigeria. It could be said that Nigerians are still waiting for implementation of the report.
The late Justice Muhammed Lawal Uwais
Three persons who served on that committee were part of Monday set of civil society leaders who went to be part of Justice Uwais’s mourning and these are Prof Jibrin Ibrahim, Barrister Festus Okoye and Comrade John Odah.
Others on the set were Dr. Chermaine Peirera, a gender researcher; Princess Hamman Obels of The Electoral Hub; Dr. Husseini Abdu, an international civil society leader; Prof Etanibi Alemika, a civil society consultant and resource person; Mallam Dalha Isa Fagge, a legislative resource person; Prof Jibrin Ibrahim, a researcher and columnist; Mallam Salihu Lukman, ex-labour activist and politician; Comrade John Odah, a labour leader and think tanker; Barrister Festus Okoye, a former student activist and an immediate past INEC National Commissioner; Mister Adagbo Onoja, a researcher and Dr. Kole Shettima of MacArthur Foundation.
