The second son of the late legal maestro, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, George Oputa, on Monday, relived the last moments his father had with his children at his Abuja residence before he passed on in his sleep on Sunday afternoon.
George alongside his elder brother, Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly-boy, said the eminent Supreme Court jurist died at his usual relaxation spot, a thatch-roofed hut, situated in the middle of Charly-boy’s compound at Gwarimpa Estate in Abuja.
“The truth was that my father died peacefully in his sleep. He was relaxing on his easy-chair at that hut when he gave up the ghost at 3p.m., on Sunday.
“In fact, he wanted to go to church that morning, but was advised to relax at home by his doctor, who also scheduled to visit the house on Monday (yesterday) to take his blood sample.”
According to the son, Justice Oputa, who he said died at the age of 90, though hitherto suffering from stroke, fell sick on Valentine’s Day, February 14, and was rushed to the Federal Medical Center in Owerri, Imo State, from where he was eventually transferred to the National Hospital in Abuja from where he was taken to a private hospital.
“My father was fully recovering from the stroke when he had a relapse at the weekend, but also recovered well. He even wanted to go to church. We never knew or suspected that he was going to die that day. I will simply say that his death was God’s will.
“In my 47 years as an adult, the past couple of months were the closest I stayed with my father. I used the opportunity to serve him considering that we practically moved over from Lagos to Abuja.
“My father was a great man, an icon. He was a man that lived a fulfilled life. I will really miss him. He taught us a lot of values that encourage service to the nation, integrity and hard work. He was a man who did all he could to uphold the tenets of justice,” George added.
He insisted that the heightening level of corruption in the country, especially in the judiciary, was among several factors that gave his late father sleepless nights.
“It was my father’s earnest desire to see a corruption-free and independent judiciary in his lifetime. He strongly fought for the independence of the judiciary and always told us that the judiciary would have been better if it was separately funded.
“He usually buttressed this point with an adage that ‘he who pays the piper will always dictate the tune.”
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