By Eseoghene Emuke
The late elder statesman and convener of Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, has been described as the champion and most consistent advocate for the rule of law in Nigeria while alive.
Ijaw Lawyers Forum (ILF), a body of Ijaw lawyers worldwide, who made the remark, said the passage of Chief Clark was a great loss to the forum and the people of Niger Delta whom he had consistently spoken in defence of.
Clark, a former federal commissioner for information, passed on at 97 last week Monday in Abuja.
The group in a statement signed by Eric Omare, Esq; Somina Johnbull, Esq; Abiye Abo, Esq; Tamunosiki Roberts, Esq; Ayebakipriye Frank, Esq; Tam Williams, Esq, and Godknows Christopher, Esq, mourned with the Clark-Bekederemo family of Kiagbodo town over the passage of the nonagenarian.
ILF noted Chief Clark until his demise was the oldest member of the forum, stressing that Ijaw Nation where he was the national leader has lost one of its strongest defenders and voice.
The statement added that Chief Clark was a champion of the rule of law, whose demise was a great loss to the legal community in Nigeria, especially the Ijaw nation.
The group recalled that Chief Clark who was called to the Bar in England as a member of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple and later to the Nigerian Bar in 1965 was the second Lawyer from the western flank of the Ijaw Nation after the Late Chief E. K. Iseru, who was called to the English Bar in 1958.
“Chief Clark was one of the most consistent advocates of the rule of law in Nigeria and his demise marks a significant loss to believers in the rule of law and democracy which the legal profession represents. As a political activist, politician and community leader, Chief Clark was guided by the rule of law in all his actions.
“The Ijaw Lawyers commiserate with the Clark-Bekederemo Family, the Ijaw Nation and the people of the Niger Delta on the demise. The group promise to pay him his last respect as a fallen member of the Legal profession”, the statement further stated.
