May 13, (THEWILL)- President Bola Tinubu has felicitated Justice Mary Odili, a retired Supreme Court judge, on the special occasion of her 72nd birthday.
The President, in a statement issued by Ajuri Ngelale, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, celebrated the legal icon not only for her outstanding achievements in the legal profession but also for her work in uplifting the downtrodden and providing succour to the needy.
He recalled the many community development programmes and relief efforts of Mrs. Odili as the First Lady of Rivers State, some of which include The Adolescent Project (TAP) where education, health improvement, social rehabilitation, and empowerment services to vulnerable adolescent girls were advanced, directly impacting over 500,000 citizens, and which went on to win the Global Health Council Award for Safe Motherhood in Washington D.C, in May 2001.
Justice Odili, an eminent jurist, was the deputy chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), serving as deputy to the chairman (Chief Justice of the Federation) at the nation’s apex judicial commission.
She was also president of the National Association of Women Judges of Nigeria (NAWJN) and chairperson of the Body of Benchers, where she led pioneering reforms such as retooling the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee by constituting three panels, thus expediting their processes and ensuring efficiency, and reviving the Body of Benchers’ mentoring programme for all young lawyers (0-7 years post call), among others.
As Justice Odili marks her birthday, President Tinubu wished the esteemed jurist and the Odilis many more years of service to the nation in good health.
