Ex-Supreme Court Judge dies at 71

A former Supreme Court Judge, Justice Saifullahi Muntaqa Coommassie has died at the age of 71 on Thursday evening after a brief illness.

Alhaji Yusuf Saifullahi, son to the deceased, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Zaria that his father died in Zaria after a brief illness.

He said the deceased who was born on Feb. 10, 1946 attended different schools after his initial mandatory Qur’anic school in his home town and other places.

NAN reports that the late Coommassie was initially trained as a teacher and taught Arabic and English in Zaria and Kaduna.

He retired from the teaching profession as the Principal of Provincial Arabic School in Fada, Zaria after spending a decade in the profession.

He then joined the legal profession by obtaining his Law degree (LL.B) in 1976 from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) and was called to the bar after attending the Nigerian Law School, Lagos in 1977.

He was a State Counsel for the Ministry of Justice in Kwara State from 1977 to 1978 and Kaduna State in 1978.

Between 1978 and 1988, he was with the High Court, Kaduna in various capacities; as an Associate Magistrate, Senior Magistrate, Chief Magistrate, Deputy Chief Registrar and as the Chief Registrar.

Prior to joining the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2008, he was a Judge at the Court of Appeal and served in Port Harcourt, Jos, Abuja, Ilorin and Benin divisions.

He was awarded with the Time News Magazine Nigeria merit award in 2006; he was on national assignment as a member of the Karibi Whyte Disturbance Tribunal in Abuja (1986-1987).

The late Coommassie attended several workshops and seminars on Sharia and other aspects of law and was a member of the Nigerian Body of Benchers.

The deceased left behind three wives and two children.

NAN reports that funeral prayer is scheduled to hold at the Emir of Zazzau’s palace Zaria by 10a.m. on Friday.