Anthony Aniagolu was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

judge who served as Chief Judge of

Anambra State Anambra () is a States of Nigeria, state in Nigeria. It is located in the South East (Nigeria), South-eastern region of the country. The state was created on 27 August 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State and Ri ...

from 1976 to 1978 and was a justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court from 1978 to 1987. In 1988, he chaired a Constituent Assembly to propose a draft constitution for Nigeria's Third Republic.

Life

Aniagolu was born in Eke to the family of Aniagolu and Monica Onwusi, his father was a farmer; his uncle was Onyeama Onwusi, the Warrant Chief of Eke, and he was a cousin of

Charles Onyeama Charles Dadi Umeha Onyeama (26 April 1916 – 5 September 1999) was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the first Nigerian judge at the International Court of Justice, and father of the former Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey ...

, a judge of the World Court. His father died when he was young, and he was briefly supported by his uncle until the latter's death in 1933.Osita Okechukwu (July 24, 2011). Tribute to Late Justice A. N. Aniagolu rtd- 1922 - 2011. Daily Trust of Nigeria Aniagolu attended two primary schools in Eke and Udi and then, he was awarded a scholarship to study at

Government College, Umuahia Government College Umuahia, or GCU, is an independent secondary school for boys located on Umuahia- Ikot Ekpene road in Umuahia, Nigeria. Twenty years after the establishment of King's College, the first government-owned high school, by the Briti ...

; he finished in secondary education at

Christ the King College, Onitsha Christ the King College, Onitsha (CKC), popularly known as CKC Onitsha, or Amaka Boys, is a Catholic all-boys secondary school in Onitsha, Nigeria. It is ranked the top-ranked high school in Nigeria and 36th in the top 100 best high schools in Af ...

. After completing his education in Onithsa, he was a briefly a teacher at his alma mater and also completed an intermediate law program as an external student. From 1948-1952, he studied at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

where he earned his law degree. Thereafter, he established a law practice in

Enugu Enugu () verbally pronounced as "Enụgwụ" by the Igbo indigenes is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the so ...

until 1965 when he became a judge of the High Court of Eastern Nigeria. While practicing law in Enugu, he was a member of the Federal Electoral Commission of Nigeria from 1958 to 1965. In 1963, he became the chairman of Eastern Nigeria Festival of Arts Committee. In 1975, he was made acting Chief Judge of the

East Central State East Central State is a former administrative division of Nigeria. It was created on 27 May 1967 from parts of the Eastern Region and existed until 3 February 1976, when it was divided into two states - Anambra and Imo. The area now comprises fiv ...

and on the creation of Anambra State in 1976, he became the state's first Chief Judge. He was nominated to become a justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court in 1978.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aniagolu, Anthony Nigerian jurists 1922 births 2011 deaths Supreme Court of Nigeria justices Alumni of the University of Bristol Government College Umuahia alumni Nigerian expatriates in the United Kingdom People from Enugu State