Retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Kayode Eso has won the 2011 Civil Society Anti-Corruption Defender Award.
Former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and the late legal luminary and anti-corruption activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, (SAN), won the award in 2009 and 2010.
In a joint statement by the award jury, Eso was chosen “for consistently standing up against corruption as a judge, and for his leadership, courage and commitment to the cause of the vulnerable sectors of the population.”
The jury comprises the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism; the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP); the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC); Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), and the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR).
The statement, signed by SERAP’s Executive Director, Mr Adetokunbo Mumuni, said the award will be presented to Eso today in Lagos.
It added: “As a legal practitioner, Eso defended black miners in Jos who were protesting against the discriminatory practices of the British colonial authorities. As a judge, he was brilliant, fair and principled.
“He has been aptly described as ‘the Activist of the Supreme Court’; ‘the Lord Denning of Nigeria’ and ‘one of the greatest analytical minds to have ever sat on the Supreme Court Bench’, because of his courageous and bold judgments, and his unquestionable integrity and intellectual ability,” the groups added.
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Eso wins civil society award