Justice Akanbi was a good ambassador of Islam, say NSCIA, NASFAT

The Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Nasru Lahi-l-Fathi Society of Nigeria (NASFAT) have described the death of late legal luminary and the pioneer Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practice Commission (ICPC) Justice Mustapha Akanbi, as a great loss to the nation and Muslims in particular.

President-General NSCIA, and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, said like any great man in life with exemplary footprint, late Justice Akanbi came into the world and lived by the divine rules and regulations of his Creator to the best of his ability.

He said: “His demise at the age of 85 brought a new dimension to the current situation in Nigeria. Coming up at this precarious time in the country’s trending but unpredictable developments, the demise of a vertical personality like Justice Akanbi is a further confirmation that death is indeed a leveler of mankind.

Sultan, in a statement by Deputy Secretary-General, NSCIA, Prof. Salisu Shehu, said: “While alive, he embarked upon a series of temporal and spiritual activities absorbing experiences from various legitimate engagements in which he was involved. Such experiences enabled him to formulate a guiding philosophy in life with which he charted his causes of actions. Yet, the philosophy he formulated from those actions was not merely for his own survival but for him a way of providing a right path through which people who wouldn’t want to go astray could pass with piety.

“And now, with his demise, that philosophy has become a guide to those of the living who may need guidance either as a warning on the vanity of human wishes or as encouragement towards the pursuit of good deeds or both.” He said.

With an unblemished conscience, the Muslim leaders said while alive, Justice Akanbi stood out vertically in the midst of his horizontal colleagues either as a lawyer or as a judge or a crusader against corruption.

Meanwhile, NASFAT also expresses deep grief and sadness over the death of the legal luminary.

The President of the Society, Engr Kamil Yomi Bolarinwa, said the death of late Justace Akanbi was a great loss to the entire country and particularly the Muslim Ummah because of his exceptional and exemplary qualities which stood him high above his contemporaries and projected him as a good ambassador of Islam nationally and on the international scene.

The Publicity Secretary of NASFAT, Alhaji Banji Busari, quoted Bolarinwa as saying: “Though his death was painful, NASFAT and indeed the entire Ummah are consoled by the enduring legacies he has left in the judiciary profession as a Muslim and a quintessential civil servant.

“On behalf of the Society we commiserate with the family of the deceased the Kwara State Government with the people of Kwara State and the entire Ummah. May Allah accept the repose of the soul of the deceased and we pray Almighty Allah to strengthen his family the entire Ummah and all the people he has left behind,” he said.