Mohammed Bello (1930 – 4 November 2004) 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 the

Chief Justice of Nigeria The Chief Justice of Nigeria or CJN is the head of the judicial arm of the government of Nigeria, and presides over the country's Supreme Court and the National Judicial Council. The current Chief Justice is Olukayode Ariwoola who was appo ...

from 1987 to 1995.

Early life

Bello was born in

Katsina Katsina, likely from "Tamashek" eaning son or bloodor mazza enwith "inna" otheris a Local Government Area and the capital city of Katsina State, in northern Nigeria.

in 1930. His father, Muhammadu Gidado was an Islamic jurist and held the position of

mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important rol ...

in the royal court of

Muhammadu Dikko Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko also known as Muhammad Dikko dan Gidado (1865 – May 1944), was the 47th Emir of Katsina from 9 November 1906 until his death in 1944. He was the ninth Fulani emir, as well as the first emir from the current ruling Sullub ...

; he was a descendant of Mallam Isyaka Daura, a contemporary of

Uthman dan Fodio Usman Ɗan Fodio ( ar, عثمان بن فودي, translit=ʿUthmān ibn Fodio; 15 December 1754 – 20 April 1817) was a Fulani scholar, Sunni Islamic religious teacher, revolutionary, and philosopher who founded the Sokoto Caliphate and ruled ...

the founder of the

Sokoto Caliphate The Sokoto Caliphate (), also known as the Fulani Empire or the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Ful ...

. Bello received a traditional Islamic education at home with illustrious scholars before being sent to Katsina Elementary School and Katsina Middle School and attended

Barewa College Barewa College is a college in Zaria, Kaduna State, northern Nigeria. Founded in 1921 by British Governor General Hugh Clifford, it was originally known as Katsina College. It switched its name to Kaduna College in 1938 and to Government College, ...

from 1945 to 1948.

Education

After leaving college, he trained as a manager at the United Africa Company (hitherto the

Royal Niger Company The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It was formed in 1879 as the ''United African Company '' and renamed to ''National African Company'' in 1881 and to ''Royal Niger Co ...

). However, on the advice of Northern elders he was selected alongside his childhood friend

Mamman Nasir Nasir Mamman GCON (2 July 1929 – 13 April 2019), titled Galadiman Katsina from 1992 to 2019, was a Nigerian jurist and nobleman who served as President of the Courts of Appeal from 1978 to 1992. Biography Mamman was born in 1929 in Katsina. ...

to read Latin at University College Ibadan before proceeding to England where he was instructed in the law and

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1956. He completed his pupillage at

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in Fitzgerald Chambers in 1958 and returned in service of the Government of Northern Nigeria.

Crown service

He was made a

Crown counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Advo ...

to the Government of Northern Nigeria in

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...

. In this role, he served as a colonial civil servant and prosecuted in the name of the Crown through independence in 1960. In 1961, he became the first

chief magistrate Chief magistrate is a public official, executive or judicial, whose office is the highest in its class. Historically, the two different meanings of magistrate have often overlapped and refer to, as the case may be, to a major political and admini ...

Northern Nigeria Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the United Kingd ...

. In 1962, he spent a year at the

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

. He became

Director of Public Prosecution The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members of ...

in Northern Nigeria, in 1964.

High court

The fall of the First Republic and the militarization of law and politics led to the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

, Bello was made a high court judge in

, in 1966, and was acting and later Chief Justice of Northern Nigeria between 1969 and 1975. After nine years as a judge in the high courts of

, Bello was appointed by military head of state

Murtala Mohammed Murtala Ramat Muhammad (8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) was a Nigerian general who led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi military regime and featured prominently during the Nigerian Civil War ...

to 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 Ass ...

Rise to eminence

At the Supreme Court, he gained respect amongst his peers for his interpretation of the law and upholding the principles of the court in judicial matters. Bello was awarded the

Order of the Niger Nigeria became an independent country on 1 October 1960 and in 1963 became the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The republic instituted two orders of merit: the Order of the Niger and the Order of the Federal Republic. Award The two highest honou ...

in two classes – Commander of the Order of the Nigeria; and, in 1987, Grand Commander of the Order of Niger. He also received several honours, including from the World Jurist Association in Montreal; conferred honorary doctorates from the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 196 ...

University of Lagos The University of Lagos, popularly known as UNILAG, is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in th ...

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal government-owned university that is located in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife ...

, and

Ahmadu Bello University Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Al ...

Zaria Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau Emirate Council, and one of the original seven Hausa city-states ...

Chief justice

In 1987, Bello became the first northern

. As chief justice, he steered the wheels of the

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

towards the

rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...

and largely attempted to check the military's

use of force The use of force, in the context of law enforcement, may be defined as the "amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject". Use of force doctrines can be employed by law enforcement officers and military perso ...

in the

administration of justice The administration of justice is the process by which the legal system of a government is executed. The presumed goal of such an administration is to provide justice for all those accessing the legal system. The phrase is also commonly used to ...

. He nonetheless, viewed the supremacy of power as legitimate an action which drew him criticism as a military apologist.

Later life

In 1995, he retired from the bench and became a statutory member of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

. He was involved as either patron, trustee or adviser to several associations including Chairman of Katsina Foundation, Gamji Members’ Association, Barewa Old Boys Association, and the

Nigerian Bar Association The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is a non-profit, umbrella professional association of all lawyers admitted to the bar in Nigeria. It is engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and good governance in Nigeria. T ...

. Mohammed Bello died on 4 November 2004.Nigeria: Ex-CJN, Mohammed Bello, Dies At 74
/ref>

Notes

References

* Justice Kuti, Mohammed Bello: Honorauble Gentleman, Eminent Jurist, GLJ Press * Nigerian Vanguard, Nov 5, 2004, Justice Bello * Xinhua News Agency, September 28, 1994, Concord Journalists * Thisday, Nigeria November 23, 2004, Justice Bello {{DEFAULTSORT:Bello, Mohammed 1930 births 2004 deaths Nigerian Muslims Nigerian Fula people People from Katsina State University of Ibadan alumni 20th-century Nigerian lawyers Supreme Court of Nigeria justices Chief justices of Nigeria