Ex-CJN Mohammed Uwais is Dead

Alex Enumah in Abuja

A former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mohammed Uwais, is dead.

He died on Friday in Abuja, according to a family source. He was aged 88.

The former CJN would have been 89 on June 12.

Meanwhile, preparations for his funeral prayer and burial are said to have begun.

Born on June 12, 1936, Justice Uwais served as the Chief Justice of Nigeria from 1995 until his retirement in 2006.

After retiring from the Supreme Court, he was appointed by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to lead the Electoral Reform Committee, where he played a key role in efforts to improve Nigeria’s electoral system.

Details later.