A former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Alfa Belgore has declared that Buhari’s award of GCFR, the highest honour the Nigerian Government can confer on anyone, is illegal.
Recall that the President in a statement yesterday awarded, posthumously, the GCFR on MKO Abiola who died in 1998. In the same statement, Buhari also announced that democracy day would be moved from May 29th to June 12, explaining that the latter date held more of a symbolic significance to Nigerians.
The retired judge said this in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, stating that this honour could not be awarded to someone who is no longer living.
Belgore also said that not only the GCFR, but no national honour can be conferred on the dead.
He said; “It is not done… it is for people living.”
“The only thing they could do is to name a place after him, but national honours award, no.”
There was an attempt to name the University of Lagos after the fallen statesman, with the proposal that the school be called the Moshood Abiola University, but alumni of the school and other stakeholders including students fought against this and eventually the decision was overturned.
Belgore was chief judge between 2006 and 2007.