CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF JUSTICE CHIKE IDIGBE
INTRODUCTION
PUNUKA Attorneys and Solicitors is proud to announce the 100th anniversary of our founder Justice Chukwunweike Idigbe OFR, CON. Justice Idigbe, asides founding our firm, served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Nigeria from 1975 to 1985, and is remembered as a distinguished jurist, a fearless advocate for justice, and a champion of the rule of law. He was renowned for his landmark judgements, which continue to shape the legal landscape of Nigeria to this day.
Honourable Justice Chukwunweike Idigbe OFR, CON, was a distinguished Nigerian jurist who served as a judge in the then Western Nigeria High Court and later rose to the position of Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He was born on August 12, 1923, at Kaduna, Nigeria, the fourth (and only surviving) child of Alexander Ahudinma Idigbe and his wife, Madam Christiana Idigbe.
Chike, as he was fondly called, began his education at St. Mary’s Catholic Mission, Port Harcourt, at the age of six. He later gained admission to Christ the King College, Onitsha, in 1937. In 1943, he passed the Cambridge examination in Division One and obtained an exemption from the London Matriculation Examination. He had planned to study engineering in London but suddenly and in an interesting manner changed his mind to study law and was admitted to study law at King’s College, Cambridge. He finished from King’s College, obtaining a Second-Class Upper Division Grade in his LLB in 1946 and winning the much-coveted Forster-Campbell Prize in Criminal Law. He was also one of the first four Nigerians to pass the Cambridge University Law examination with honours- the others being Dr. T.O. Elias (former Attorney General of the Federation and Chief Justice of Nigeria), Dr. G.B.A. Coker, and Gabriel Onyuike QC, SAN.
Being the first lawyer in the Asaba Division and the then Benin province, in 1947, upon his return to Nigeria, he was welcomed in grandeur. He was admitted to the Nigerian Bar later that year. He settled in Warri, where he established with the famous Sierra-Leonean lawyer Nelson Williams his law office PUNUKA Chambers (named after his great-great-grandfather Obi Idigbe, who was married to one ‘Onye Punuka’).
In 1961, he was appointed a Judge of the Western Nigeria High Court, and in 1964, he was elevated to the position of Justice of the Supreme Court. From 1966-1967, he served concurrently as the Chief Justice of the newly created Mid-Western region before he ceased to be a Nigerian judge during the civil war due to him being of Igbo heritage and having to escape to safety in the Biafran region from attempts on his life. In 1972, he joined Irving and Bonnar, a private law firm in Lagos, and three years later, he was re-appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He shared the Supreme Court bench with notable Justices such as: Hon. Justice William Algernon Holwell Duffus, Hon. Justice Edger Ignatius G. Unsworth, Hon. Justice John Idowu Conrad Taylor, Hon. Justice Vahe Robert Bairamian, Hon. Justice Eugene O. Adeyinka Morgan, Hon. Justice Louis Nwachukwu Mbanefo, Hon. Justice Michael Oguejiofo Ajegbo, Hon. Justice George Baptist A. Coker, Hon. Justice Charles Dadi Onyeama, Hon. Justice Ian Lewis, Hon. Justice Atanda Fatai-Williams (CJN), Hon. Justice Udo Udoma, Hon. Justice Taslim Olawale Elias (CJN), Hon. Justice George Sodeinde Sowemimo (CJN), Hon. Justice Dan Ibekwe, Hon. Justice Darnley Arthur R. Alexander (CJN), Hon. Justice Mahman Nasir, Hon. Justice Muhammed Bello (CJN), Hon. Justice Charles Olusoji Madarikan, Hon. Justice Andrew Otutu Obaseki, Hon. Justice Anthony Nnaemezie Aniagolu, Hon. Justice Buba Ardo, Hon. Justice Kayode Eso, Hon. Justice Augustine Nnamani, and Hon. Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais (CJN).
During his tenure on the Bench, he delivered ruling on several landmark cases amongst which are: Bucknor-Maclean & Anor v Inlaks Limited, Shitta-Bey v Federal Public Service Commission, Balogun v National Bank, Usoro v Shell Petroleum Development Co., Atiti Gold v Beatrice Osaseren, Mutual Aids Society v Akerele amongst others. He also served as chairman of the land use committee set up to review the land tenure system in Nigeria. He was the recipient of two national honours: Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) and Commander of the Niger (CON). He was also a traditional Chief (Olinzele) of Asaba and held the highly coveted title of Izoma of Asaba as a man of the people.
Justice Chukwunweike Idigbe was happily married and blessed with children, amongst of whom are: Mr Victor Idigbe (Late), Mr. Jude Idigbe Esq, Ms Uche Idigbe, Chief (Dr) Anthony Idigbe SAN, Mr Amaechi Idigbe, Mr Ifeanyi Idigbe (late).
He passed away on July 31, 1983, at the Cromwell Hospital in London, just a few days short of his 60th birthday and anticipated appointment as the Chief Justice of Nigeria. He was a remarkable jurist and a trailblazer in his field, leaving a legacy that continues to inspire generations of legal practitioners in Nigeria and beyond.
