BY ROTIMI DUROJAIYE
President Muhammadu Buhari, has extended heartfelt condolences to the family of Ilori on the passing of Justice Samuel Omotunde Ilori, the 9th Chief Judge of Lagos State.
The highbrowed judge died in the afternoon of Tuesday, October 12, 2021, at the age of 87.
Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, said the President joined the Lagos State Government, the Bar, and the National Judicial Council in mourning the eminent jurist, who started his career as a Pupil Counsel at the Federal Ministry of Justice in 1965 and later transferred his service to Lagos State, rising through the ranks before his appointment as Chief Judge in 1996.
President Buhari affirmed that Justice Ilori, who had a distinguished career in the public service spanning over 30 years and comprising many roles, will be remembered for his pivotal role of introducing the use of technology in court proceedings in the country.
“The President adds that the Nigerian Judicial system is richer by the lifelong contributions of brilliant judges like Ilori. President Buhari prays God to grant the soul of the departed eternal rest, and comfort family, friends and colleagues that mourn,” Adesina said.
The passage of the former Chief Judge was announced in a statement by his family, signed by Ms Olukemi Ilori, saying “the judge died peacefully.”
The statement reads: “We hereby announce the death of our father, Honourable Justice Samuel Omotunde Ilori, the ninth Chief Judge of Lagos State, in the afternoon of Tuesday 12 October in Lagos. He was well and just passed peacefully on that day.
“We give gratitude to God for his legacy and a life well spent. Funeral arrangements will be announced later.”
His tenure as Chief Judge was not only eventful but was also a watershed.
He was the first Chief Judge to introduce technology into court proceedings in the country.
However, the system recorded little success following the inability to get good hands to operate the verbatim court reporting machines he brought into the system and the epileptic power supply.
The late Justice Ilori was born on January 5, 1934, in Ilesha, Osun State, to Chief James Jegede Ilori and Chief (Mrs) Comfort Olasihunmi Ilori.
He attended Holy Trinity School, Omofe, Ilesha (1942-1950). Divisional Teacher Training College (1953-1954); Gloucester Technical College (1956-1959); and University of Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom (1959-1962).
He was at Inner Temple, London(1961-1963), and Nigerian Law School in 1964. He was a teacher briefly and in private practice before gaining employment as a Pupil Counsel at the Federal Ministry of Justice on July 1, 1965.
He transferred his service to Lagos State after the state was created on April 1, 1968. He rose through the ranks in the civil service and was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions on March 6, 1978.
As DPP, he prosecuted the famous Lagos socialite, Chief Ejigbadero, for the murder of Raji Oba, a farmer on his farm. Ejigbadero was sentenced to death by the late Justice Ishola Oluwa for the murder.
Ilori was promoted as Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary on June 1, 1979. He was appointed a judge on September 1, 1980, and Chief Judge of Lagos State on December 27, 1996. He retired on January 5, 1999.
On the eve of his retirement, however, a controversy occurred on the extension of the retirement age of Chief Judges in the country.
The then military Head of State, General Abdusalami Abubakar, had announced the extension of the retirement age of Chief Judge from 65 to 70 years.
That led to an uproar in the Lagos State judiciary as the next judge to him, Justice Sikiru Olatunde Adagun, who had less than three months to retire from the bench, was already waiting.
With the announcement of the Head of State, Justice Ilori deferred his retirement.
But some Lagos indigenous judges were not happy, including a politician and former Minister in the First Republic, Theophilus Benson.
They approached the high court in Lagos for an order compelling Justice Ilori to quit office, having clocked the mandatory retirement age.
The case which turned to a legal gymnastics in the courtroom was heard before Justice Eniola Longe at the Ikeja High Court.
The court granted the application.
It became a heated controversy, and General Abubakar subsequently withdrew the extension.
Suffice to say that Justice Ilori engaged the late Chief FRA Williams as his lawyer in the case.
The case eventually got to the Court of Appeal, where the order was quashed.
Justice Adagun eventually became an Acting Chief but was not sworn in as a substantive Chief Judge until eleven days to his retirement.
He operated from his chambers for the 11 days during which he visited all jurisdictions in the state.
Adagun was succeeded by Justice Christopher Olatunde Segun.
