Justice Chukwudifu Oputa was one of the finest jurists to adorn the bench in Nigeria. Unlike these days when appointment to the Supreme Court is by promotion from the Court of Appeal, Justice Oputa was elevated from the High Court to the apex Court. Like many of his colleagues of the era, Justice Oputa contributed immensely to the golden era of the nation's Judiciary. Through his judgments the jurist displayed deep knowledge of procedural and substantive law. He commanded the respect and admiration of judges and lawyers.
Owing to his prodigious grounding in philosophy he was referred to by his learned brethren as the Socrates of the Supreme Court. His commitment to social justice was unparalleled. At a time in the 1980s the jurist allied with Justice Kayode Eso and Justice Andrew Obaseki to form a trinity of judicial activists who mobilised the Supreme Court to dispense justice to all classes of people even if the heavens would fall
...