Ahead of the International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December 2011, a legal legend retired Justice Kayode Eso has won the 2011 Civil Society Anti-Corruption Defender Award.
Ahead of the International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December 2011, a legal legend retired Justice Kayode Eso has won the 2011 Civil Society Anti-Corruption Defender Award.
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The award will be presented to Justice Eso on Friday 9 December 2011 at NECA Main Hall, Plot A2, Hakeem Balogun Street, opposite Afrika shrine, Agidingbi, Lagos.
Former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and the late legal luminary and anticorruption activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, (SAN), won the award in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
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In a joint statement dated 8 December 2011, the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism; Socio-Economic Rights & Accountability Project (SERAP); Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC); Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), and Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), which made up the award jury said Justice Eso deserved the award for his “unquestionable integrity, and passion for justice and the rule of law, and his consistent and fearless campaign for a corruption-free judiciary.”
The statement signed on behalf of the groups by SERAP Executive Director Adetokunbo Mumuni said that, “Justice Eso was chosen for the 2011 Civil Society Anti-Corruption Defender Award for consistently standing up against corruption as a judge, and for his leadership, courage and commitment to the cause of the vulnerable sectors of the population. He once said: ‘Woe unto corrupt judges. I am not happy to have a corrupt bench. It is a deadly thing’”
“As a legal practitioner, Eso defended black miners in Jos who were protesting against the discriminatory practices of the British colonial authorities. As a judge, he was brilliant, fair and principled. He has been aptly described as 'the Activist of the Supreme Court'; ‘the Lord Denning of Nigeria’ and ‘one of the greatest analytical minds to have ever sat on the Supreme Court Bench’, because of his courageous and bold judgments, and his unquestionable integrity and intellectual ability,” the groups added.
“In 1989, he headed an anticorruption panel, whose report provided the foundational documents for the establishment of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission (ICPC),” the groups also said.
“At the Supreme Court, Justice Eso delivered a total of 463 judgments, 390 of which were concurring judgments, 69 lead judgments and 4 dissenting judgements. One of the noticeable cases where Eso demonstrated his judicial activism philosophy is known as Mystery Gunman case, a case involving the trial of Wole Soyinka over his role in a broadcast which the government of the defunct Western Region of Nigeria considered offensive. Justice Eso fearlessly returned a verdict of ‘not guilty,’ despite the political environment at that time.”
“In the case of Ojukwu V Military Governor of Lagos State reported in 1986, Justice Eso condemned the forced eviction of Ojukwu from his residence by the Lagos State government as ‘executive lawlessness.’ In the case, Justice Eso declared boldly: ‘the essence of the rule of law is that it should never operate under the rule of force or fear. To use force to effect and act and while under the marshall of that force to seek the court’s equity is an attempt to infuse timidity into court and operate a sabotage of the cherished rule of law. It must never be,’” the group further stated
Justice Eso was born in Ilesa, Osun state of Nigeria on Friday, September 18, 1925. He attended the Holy Trinity School, Omofe, Ilesa and Ilesa Grammar School, before proceeding to the Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, where he obtained the Bachelor of Laws (LLB). In 1956, he was awarded a Master of Arts degree.
He was called to the English Bar, Lincoln’s Inn in 1954 and to the Nigerian Bar in December of the same year.
Justice Eso has won several awards and honors, including the Hallmarks of Labour Award; Distinguished Patriot Award; and life member, Body of Benchers.
According to the groups, “This award is intended as an inspirational tool to recognise the courage, tenacity and contributions of outstanding leaderships who have championed reforms for better governance against formidable odds and risks. The award aims to recognize the important contribution of individuals and human rights and anticorruption non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working at great risk to expose and eliminate grand corruption.”
Signed
Adetokunbo Mumuni
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