Kwara high court Judge, Justice Safiya Titi Daibu, has died.
Justice Safiya died on Monday in a hospital in Abuja after a brief illness.
The death of Kwara high court judge came a day after the Vice Chancellor of the Kwara State University (KWASU), Prof Mohammed Mustapha Akanbi, died and was buried according to Islamic rites.
Apart from being one of the most influential female judges in the state, late Daibu, it was gathered, had already been nominated to succeed Justice Sulyman Durosinlorun Kawu as the next Chief Judge (CJ) of Kwara State in January.
She would have been the second female CJ in the history of the state after Justice Raliat Elelu (Rtd) who left the service in 2012.
Late Justice Safiya’s husband, Barrister Nuhu Lanre Daibu, is a popular politician in Kwara State, and had served as Chairman, Ilorin South LGA, Chairman of the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and Chief of Staff (CoS) to the state government.
Reacting to Safiya’s death, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq described her as one of the shining lights of the bench.
“This, again, is a huge depletion in the ranks of the great minds in our state, especially in the judiciary where she was a leader with a difference,” he said in a statement signed by Rafiu Ajakaye, his spokesman.
On his part, the Emir of Ilorin and Chairman, Kwara State Council of Chiefs, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, according to his spokesman, Mallam Abdulazeez Arowona, said he was “overwhelmed by the numerous unfortunate occurrences happening in the Ilorin Emirate.”