A Paper Presented at the Second Edition of the Annual Justice (His Royal Majesty) Ambrose Allagoa Memorial Lecture Held on Thursday, 8th of December, 2022 at the Ceremonial Court Hall, Block C, High Court Complex, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Let me start by reaffirming publicly what my acceptance to speak at this very
illustriously appointed event indicates – an honour to be thought worthy to
facilitate this discourse in memory of his Lordship, the Late Justice Ambrose
Allagoa.
1.2 His Lordship, the Late Justice Ambrose Allagoa, an illustrious Ijaw man, the
first lawyer of Nembe Sie origin and the first indigenous Chief Judge of the
old Rivers State left an indelible impression on the tapestry of jurisprudence
as a fearless purveyor of truth, equity, and justice.
1.3 We ride on the shoulders of giants to attain our individual places in the sun,
is often a descriptive explanation of the attainments of succeeding
generations. Such were the legal, judicial, including the traditional
attainments of the person we are memorialising today that a generation of
Nembe lawyers rode on those wide and commodious shoulders of his for our
current places in the judicial sun. I confess that I most certainly drew
inspiration from aspects of his life’s journey to pattern mine.
1.4 His legacy as fearless social advocate is no less commendable given his
numerous and untiring efforts to situate the lives of the average Ijaw/Nembe
man in better stead. He was the quintessential gentleman whose intellect,
drive and conscientiousness would have served our Nembe people and our
nation greatly today. Alas, the rest of us must go on and do our utmost to
carry on the heavy baton which he has bequeathed.
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