DEATH OF HON. JUSTICE ABDULKADIR ORIRE

By

Ibn Abdillah As-sudaisiy Al-Iloori

It was just two days ago that a brother messaged me he was looking for the works of Hon. Justice AbdulKadir Orire and Hon. Justice Muttalib Ambali. I directed him to the Library of Kwara State Sharī'ah Court of Appeal for their publications. This was what first came to my mind when I saw the news of the death of the pioneer Grand Kadi of Kwara State, Hon. Justice AbdulKadir Orire (Rtd). His service to Islām in this part of the world is clear for everyone to see. He mentored many conscious and dedicated Muslims. He was a teacher of repute, a jurist and orator per excellence. 

I grew up knowing the former Secretary-General of Jamatu Nasril Islām for nothing other than service to Islām and humanity. He was a source of inspiration to us as we were growing up. If any matter relating to Islām was raised, he was the first person to be mentioned in the whole of Ilorin and Kwara as whole. Perhaps, this earned him the title "Marafan Iloori" and later "Sarkin Malami of Ilorin". He had many outstanding judgments and publications to his credit. He was instrumental to the creation of many Islāmic da'wah and welfare organizations. He single handedly founded Islāmic Missionaries Association of Nigeria (IMAN) that nurtured many Muslim youths through its Annual Ramadan Lectures. What I will never forget as a small child then was how he used host iftar of the last day of every month of Ramadan at IMAN Center. We used to look forward to it then.

Lastly, when I was NAMLAS President at Unilorin, I went through the honours roll and couldn't find Justice Orire's name. I found it embarrassing considering the role he played in the establishment of Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin and his dedication to the cause of shar'iah education, not only in Kwara State, but Nigeria as a whole. So, we had to call for submission of papers for publication of NAMLAS Journal of Law and Religion in his honour. By the leave of Allāh, my successor, Adam Muhammad ensured that the project saw the light of the day. Some of his outstanding articles were published in that journal. He will be greatly missed. Only Allāh can console us.

May Allāh forgive and have mercy on him