Former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, has died at the age of 76, the Supreme Court confirmed on Wednesday.
Katsina-Alu, who hailed from Ushongo in Benue, died at an Abuja hospital in the early hours of Wednesday.
He was the CJN from December 30, 2009 to August 28, 2011.
Senior Special Assistant to the Chief Justice of Nigeria on Media, Awassam Bassey, in a statement in Abuja, said Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen confirmed Katsina-Alu’s death from Canada.
“The death of the former numero uno of the Nigerian judiciary was confirmed while Justice Onnoghen was in Canada.
“A few of our colleagues have called this morning (from about 3:30a.m. Montreal Canadian time) to seek confirmation of the death of former Chief Justice Katsina-Alu.
“I can confirm that the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Mrs Hadizatu Mustapha, sent me a WhatsApp message to that effect about an hour ago confirming the death of the former CJN.
“I have just called the Chief Registrar to confirm that this is indeed the situation.
“The Personal Assistant of the former CJN called her at 3.00p.m. Nigerian time to inform her of the demise,” Bassey quoted Onnoghen to have said.
Katsina-Alu, born on August 28 1941, succeeded Justice Idris Kutigi as CJN.
There was controversy over his swearing-in ceremony, as the then President Umaru Yar’Adua was unable to administer the Oath of Office on account of illness.
Yar’Adua was abroad for medical treatment, leaving Justice Kutigi to swear in his successor.
