Chukwudifu Oputa (22 September 1916 – 4 May 2014) was a

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

jurist who was Judge of the

Supreme Court of Nigeria The Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN) is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what is known as the Three Arms Zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the Presidential Complex, the National As ...

from 1984 to 1989. He was appointed in 1999 by

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pre ...

to head the Oputa panel which investigated human right abuses by former military juntas and submitted their findings in 2003.

Early life and education

Chukwudifu Oputa was born on 22 September 1916 in Oguta to Chief Oputa Uzukwu and Madam Nwametu Oputa. His father an Igbo chieftain married 10 wives and fathered multiple children of which Chukwudifu was the last. He started his education at the Sacred Heart School, Oguta from 1930 to 1936 and then proceeded to the Christ the king College, Onitsha for his post primary education from 1937 to 1940 where he obtained his West Africa Senior School Certificate. Oputa furthered to the

Yaba Higher College Yaba Higher College was founded in 1932 in Yaba, now a suburb of Lagos in Nigeria to provide tertiary education to Africans, mostly in vocational subjects and teaching. The college staff were transferred to start the University of Ibadan in 1948 ...

but had to leave for

Achimota College Achimota School ( /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The school ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

during the World War II where he obtained a degree in Economics in 1945. He then moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

and then a degree in Law by 1953. He was called to bar at the Bar-Gary Inn on 26 November 1953.

Law career

Oputa came back to Nigeria where he set up a private law firm and practiced for years, handling multiple high-profile cases including the Oguta Chieftaincy Title dispute in 1959 and the Amayenabo dispute in 1960. He was appointed a justice of the then High Court of Eastern Nigeria in 1966 and promoted to Chief Judge of Imo State in 1976. Oputa was promoted to Justice of the

in 1984 where he served for 5 years before he retired in 1989. His stint at the Supreme court was commended by his fellow justices with former Chief Justice, Mohammed Bello, described him as "the Socrates of the Supreme Court". He was recalled by

to head

The Human Rights Violation Investigation Commission of Nigeria The Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission of Nigeria, also known as the Oputa Panel, was a commission that was developed following the collapse of the military dictatorship that controlled Nigeria until 1998. It was created by Olusegun O ...

famously referred to as the Oputa panel to investigate human rights during the period of military rule from 1984 to 1999.

Personal life

Oputa was a devoted Catholic and honored Knight Commander of St. Gregory the great and Knight Commander of St. Sylvester pope, Knight of St. Mulumba. He has published over 40 papers in lectures, conferences and seminar. The Oputa Foundation was created in his honor to promote accountable, transparent and respect for the rule of law.. He died on 4 May 2014 due to a minor illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oputa, Chukwudifu 1924 births 2014 deaths Chief justices of Nigeria People from Imo State Nigerian Roman Catholics Alumni of the University of London Yaba College of Technology alumni Nigerian expatriates in the United Kingdom