One individual whose sterling qualities in the legal profession have continued to inspire younger generations long after his demise is Justice Adolphus Karibi Whyte. In this report, SUNNY IDACHABA examines the life of this late eminent jurist.
Since independence, Nigeria has never lacked credible persons on the Bench, both locally and internationally. One of such individuals was the late Justice Adolphus Karibi-whyte who was one of the longest serving judges of the Supreme Court for 21 years and later rose to the position of Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). In a rare transition, he entered the Bench directly from the University of Lagos where he was already a professor of Law.
On the international scene, he was also the former judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia at The Hague in the Netherlands and was an accomplished/incisive jurist who presided over some of the most contentious international criminal tribunals. During his tenure at The Hague, he delivered several significant judgments, including the landmark Celebici trial case. As the presiding judge, Karibi-Whyte demonstrated exceptional leadership in navigating the complexities of this multi-party trial by ensuring a fair and expeditious process.
His judgements contributed significantly to the development of international humanitarian law by providing clarity on crucial concepts and setting important precedents till today.
His expertise and commitment to justice earned him recognition as an authority in international law.
On the home front, this late jurist was the chairman of the 1994/95 Constitutional Conference set up by the late General Sani Abacha. As CJN, he advocated for judicial independence/integrity and contributed immensely to the development of Nigerian law and jurisprudence.
Justice Karibi-Whyte while alive was an inspiration to generations of lawyers, judges and legal scholars and respected for his intellectual brilliance, fairness and courage because of certain landmark judgments.
In 1979, he also delivered a landmark judgement involving the then presidential candidate of Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) Chief Obafemi Awolowo and President Shehu Shagari where he clarified constitutional stand on electoral laws and democratic principles.
No wonder, former president Goodluck Jonathan while reflecting on his demise remembered him as an eminent jurist and bright scholar who contributed so much to the progress of Nigeria’s jurisprudence.
According to Jonathan, “Justice Karibi-Whyte stood out as an accomplished scholar and consummate jurist who commanded a vast and nuanced knowledge and understanding of the principles of law.
He stood unmistakably on the side of equity and fairness and he will be remembered for his landmark pronouncements on the bench and their implications for the growth of our justice system.
“He was also a distinguished and prolific academic whose broad-based works will continue to illuminate the path of scholarship across generations.”
This learned jurist would also be remembered for his advocacy for judicial autonomy and independence and his championed role in the establishment of the National Judicial Council (NJC) which is today an iconic institution for the legal profession.
Perhaps, one individual who was very close to the late jurist and has a better perspective of him is the late publisher of Abuja Inquirer, Dan Akpovwa. Writing on the immortality of Karibi Whyte as an individual, Akpovwa said not many people achieve immortal status like Justice Whyte not just because of his very many scholarly judgements, but because of his sheer humanity.
“As a human being, he was very kind, considerate and compassionate. For me personally, he was all of that and more. In the mid-1980s when I started out as rookie journalist, he was very interested in my professional development. For instance, he read almost every article I wrote in some national magazines and never hesitated to offer his suggestions and very valued opinions. He was my critic and biggest cheerleader. Indeed, I believe I became a better journalist because of him.
“The moral decay in Nigeria of today bothered him, but he was quietly optimistic. He always prayed for a better Nigeria. As a jurist, Justice Karibi-Whyte, was Nigeria’s finest. He represented the very best in our judiciary. His rulings, whether he was dissenting or agreeing with the lead judgement, were always thorough and well thought through. He was an intellectual giant and a credit not just to the Nigerian judiciary, but the world’s judiciary as exemplified by his work at the ICTY at The Hague.”
Commenting in a tribute to the late jurist, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia (SAN) one of his mentees, said, “Some of Justice Karibi-Whyte’s dissenting judgments were so profound such that laws had to be made to reflect his view point. Factories that produced his type no longer exist.”
Dele Adesina (SAN), a former secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), says about Justice Karibi-Whyte that, “As a Justice of the Supreme Court, His Lordship contributed in no small measures to the development of our laws both through his majority and dissenting judgments.
“Even when his position appeared to be unpopular, he would nonetheless, marshal his reasoning in the most eloquent and professorial manner. His judgments were always well researched and he never failed to decide momentous issues of law, according to his belief and depth of knowledge.
“He would not hesitate to render dissenting judgment whenever his erudition, his research, his depth of knowledge, his conscience and his understanding of the issues of facts and law involved in the matter, dictated to him the imperative need and necessity to depart from the reasoning of his colleagues.”
According to the Legal Hall of Fame, Justice Karibi-Whyte is a legal icon and an author whose professional career took him through Nigeria and international judicial systems.
According to his citation by the Hall of Fame, “In 1976, he was appointed a Judge of the Federal Revenue Court and began an illustrious judicial career which took him through the Court of Appeal from 1980 and the Supreme Court from 1984 thereby making him the second Nigerian after Dr T.O Elias, to move directly from academia to the judiciary.”
“Indeed, several years after, His Lordship’s judicial pronouncements on the bench continue to resonate in Nigeria and beyond.”
Another legal luminary, Prof. Paul Idornigie of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, said, “Justice Karibi-Whyte’s dissenting opinions in obvious opposition to the decision of the majority justices are not only legendary and seminal but unparalleled in Nigeria.”
Idornigie said Karibi-Whyte’s dissenting opinions have become illuminating judicial guides for the Supreme Court in subsequent similar cases and the basis of legislative interventions.
“He was a man driven by his passion for justice according to law, firmly undergirded by his resolute and reputed integrity.”
In his view, a former NBA president at the time of his demise, Olumide Apata, speaking at the funeral service of the jurist, extolled his stellar qualities, noting that he belonged to a cadre of distinguished jurists that was fast becoming extinct. In other words, his likes never exist.
He said, “I consider it a great honour and privilege to pay tribute to this great man on behalf of the Nigerian Bar Association. Justice Karibi-Whyte was held in the highest of esteem by members of the NBA and indeed the entire legal profession. He was one of our heroes, one of the greats, a member of that distinguished cadre of jurists that is fast becoming extinct. His many judgments bear eloquent testimony to his intellect and profundity and remain indelible in our body of case-law.”
Justice Karibi-Whyte while delivering a paper titled, ‘In the Eyes of the Law’ at the Advanced Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in Abuja a few years before he died, stressed the need for proper conducts in every human society. According to him, the rightness and wrongness of any conduct are determined by the society.
He noted that society lays the ground rules for the manner in which people conduct themselves.
“The rightness or wrongness of a conduct is determined by the society which lays the ground rules for the manner in which persons must conduct themselves within the society.
All rights, duties, immunities, privileges emanates from the constitution, no rights can be enjoyed which do not originate from it.”
In that public engagement, he admonished the National Assembly against considering itself more highly than Nigerian populace as, according to him, the people are the custodians of the law.
When, therefore, the history of Nigeria’s jurisprudence is to be written, posterity would not forget Justice Adolphus Karibi- Whyte for his enduring legacies both in the classroom and on the Bench.