Justice Iorhemen Hwande, OFR 1952 – 2022 A Tribute by Terhemen Oscar Aorabee – Gagajav
While he was alive, he donned the ermine robes – symbolic and emblematic of purity and honour without stain – as a Judge of the High Court of Justice of Benue State of Nigeria. The office of a High Court judge entitled him to dispense justice to all and sundry, and included the wielding of the power of life and death over mortals. Yet in that powerful and exalted position which he held for 28 years, 12 of which saw him sit at the apex of the Benue State Judiciary as the Chief Judge, he remained unassuming and humble.
I have appeared before men and women of authority, spiritual and secular. What I always perceive first on approaching the presence of many is that artificially created aura of authority that seems to announce to you that you are in the presence of someone you must not take for granted – the impatient and intolerant look in their eyes, as if to tell you that “I am a busy man, I hope you are not here to bother me!”, the air of pomposity, the guttural voice like a dog growling to audibly place you where you belong even before you are heard. Justice Hwande was different, composed and confident; he had no need to intimidate anyone. He was a man of immense authority and yet of utmost humility.
Justice Iorhemen Hwande OFR is, (I am not yet used to the fact that he “was”) a perfect example of someone who rose from grass to grace. I had the singular opportunity or not only observing him at close quarters as I practiced my profession before him and other judges, but I also lead a team of interviewers, all lawyers, to interview him in Feruary, 2017 for the LawVista Magazine.
He climbed the peak of the judicial mountain from the valley. Within a space of four decades, he rose from a mere court clerk to the exalted office of the Chief Judge, an indication that he was neither born with a silver spoon (born great) nor had greatness thrust upon him. He achieved greatness by a dint of hard work, honesty, dedication and the unwavering faith that he had in God.
When we asked him of his beginning, alluding to the fact that one of his kinsmen had boasted that he (the kinsman) did not crawl on the ground but on carpet, he stunned us with his honesty. He said:
“I didn’t crawl on any carpet. I wish to state that I was not even born in a hospital. I was born right in my father’s house in the village. I think I started putting on shoes only in Primary Seven when I was to attend Secondary School interview. Even slippers I did not have until Primary Seven. I bought them (shoes) for the sake of attending the secondary School interview. That was in 1966.”
When we asked him whether he was a Christian, his modesty did not allow him to answer the question straight! He said, “I hope so…,” and after a general laughter, he confessed that he was a Christian. Naturally the next question was whether his Christianity influenced his judgments as a Judge. Let me also quote him verbatim:
“I think so. I do because, as a Christian, first and foremost I look at every creation of God as special, so that when I am trying my cases, I make sure that because this person is created by God, I will not discriminate against him and if one is not careful, when you are trying some people of other tribes, when your own tribesman is involved you will be tempted to favour the person of your tribe. But I take personal notice that even this other person is created by God and I should not discriminate against him, the lives are the same. So, whenever I am trying a case, I make sure that I do justice as I see it in that particular case so that I will not discriminate against somebody on the basis of his religion or where he comes from.”
That was the summary of my lord, Justice Hwande’s life on the Bench in his own words. Being a Christian did not however, make him a weak and indolent judge, like some that are on the Bench that would sacrifice work for worship. He had difficult decisions to make sometimes that required courage, and he was never found wanting. One of the cases that tested his mettle as a conscientious and impartial judge determined to do justice irrespective of whether the heavens fell or not, was the case of DSP Godspower Nkwankwoala, the DPO of B Division (reported as Nwankwoala v. State [2006] 14 NWLR (Pt.1000)663). The DPO and some of his officers were standing trial for the extra-judicial murder of some undergraduate students of Benue State University, Makurdi. They claimed that the students were armed robbers, reminiscent of the Apo Six saga. It was discovered that they were not robbers; he just decided to waste their lives, so he took them out with some policemen; Sgt. Gideon Atime and Cpl. Alphonsus Ekeyi and shot them in cold blood. Five of the policemen were arrested initially but two were turned into witnesses; they came and testified against their DPO and the other two policemen. Justice Hwande convicted them and sentenced them to death! One of them died in prison and the others challenged their conviction and sentence up to the Supreme Court. According to Justice Hwande, “the Supreme Court was generous to the other person who was still alive, they discharged and acquitted him on the ground that the DPO fired first.” The Supreme Court said that after the DPO fired, they were not sure whether the person was still living at the time the other person fired. They confirmed the death sentence of the DPO. What made the case so challenging was that when he was trying the case, two times the case was to come up, armed robbers would attack his house on the eve. So, he had to come and voice it out in open Court that it was strange that anytime the case was coming up he would be visited by armed robbers who would come and threaten him and get some money. Even then, he still went ahead and convicted them. Another judge would have simply chickened out. Not Iorhemen Hwande! The heavens did not fall after justice was done. He lived and died naturally to the glory of God.
Again, another mark of Justice Hwande’s Christian humility and modesty was the desire to remain uncelebrated so that only God should be glorified in his life, and even in his death. When we asked him how he would like to be remembered, he said: “I don’t want to be remembered for anything”. When probed and prodded further, he philosophized:
“For now, that is my philosophy, you remember me for what you can remember me. If I do anything that strikes you, remember me for that. But when I came in as a Christian, I decided that Christ should be remembered through me. I don’t want to do anything that to be remembered. I prefer that if you remember me, remember me as a child of God; that I tried to do my best such that my Master is glorified. I don’t care about my name. … I have some houses here and there, but when they ask me whether I should take a Street Name, I tell them, don’t worry – give the Street Name to somebody else. The Lands Office came and asked me – particularly that Dan Agogo Street, – that was my first house in Makurdi. I said, no, just go ahead, put Dan Agogo, because, I don’t care whether people remember me or not.”
Justice Hwande’s zeal for the Gospel and evangelism was unparalleled. He did not separate his Christianity from his public life like most highly placed people are wont to do. Like the centurion, he built a Chapel within the Premises of the High Court headquarters complex. He employed a chaplain for the purpose of inculcating devotional life into the staff and judges alike, and to ensure that those who wanted a quiet place to pray did not convert their offices into prayer closets. He had a burning desire to dedicate his whole retirement life to evangelism; he said:
Actually, after my retirement, the basic thing that is on my mind is to work for my God. Even at the moment, from time to time, I squeeze time to go out and evangelize. The prominent thing I have on my mind is to continue serving my God for the rest of my life and if God permits, I can do a bit of writing here and there, but basically, I have decided that when I am free, I will have more time for my God.
He did not only have more time for his God, his God also had more time for his life. As God would have it, he committed his entire life to the work of the NKST Mission Retreat and when on Saturday, 16/1/2021 the leader of the NMR Othniel N. Akume was called home to be with the Lord, the mantle naturally fell on Justice Iorhemen Hwande. He carried the burden for exactly one year and six days before he was also called home on Saturday, 22 January, 2022.
In soldiering for Christ, Justice Iorhemen Hwande died in active service. We encourage and console ourselves because he lived a fulfilled Christian life. We grieve, but not like those who do not have hope in the resurrection. We are confident that on the resurrection Day, God will bring Justice Hwande, with Jesus because he slept in Him and together, both the Church triumphant and the Church Militant will converge and we will all gather at the Communion table with our Lord and be with him forever (1 Thes 4:13-18).
Fare thee well my lord.
