Hon. Justice Amina Adamu Augie, CON
“She is as straight as an arrow”, is one phrase that has constantly been used to describe Justice Augie by those who have had contact with her pursuit of justice on the bench.
Formation Years
Born Anne Eva Graham on 3 September, 1953, in Lagos, Nigeria as one of nine children, she hails from Kebbi State.
She attended Abadina School, University College Ibadan from 1958 – 1960, Hope Waddell Primary School, Calabar from 1960 – 1962 and Holy Rosary Primary School, Enugu from 1966 – 1967.
She then attended Queen Amina College, Kaduna from 1968 – 1971. She subsequently enrolled at the University of Ife, (now Obafemi Awololo University Ile-Ife) between 1972 and 1977 where she received her undergraduate degree in law (LL.B).
She went further to the Nigerian Law School in 1977 and was called to the bar on 8 July 1978. She was posted to Sokoto for her National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) programme and upon completing same, she enrolled at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria between 1980-1981 to pursue a masters in law (LLM) but could not complete her thesis because she relocated to Lagos with her husband. However, her quest for knowledge led her back to the University of Lagos where she obtained an LLM degree in Criminology and related subjects in 1987.
Career Part
Hon. Justice A. A. Augie began her legal career as counsel at the Legal Aid Council, Sokoto under the National Youth Service Corps Scheme between 1978 – 1979 and rose to become the Head of Department of Legal Aid Council, Sokoto State.
Between 1980 – 1982, she briefly worked in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria as an Assistant Lecturer. From 1982 – 1984, she served as a Senior State Counsel in the Office of the Chief Counsel to the then President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari. Thereafter, she was appointed a lecturer by the Nigerian Law School, Victoria Island, where she taught Law of Evidence from 1984 to 1988.
Her career in the judiciary began in 1988 when she was appointed as a Chief Magistrate in the Sokoto State Judiciary. While at it, her love and passion for the academia propelled her to accept a part-time employment as Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Uthman Danfodio University, Sokoto from 1989 – 1992. She also served as an Associate Lecturer in the same University from September 1999 – September 2002.
In 1992, she was appointed a Judge of the High Court, Sokoto State Judiciary.
Hon. Justice Augie was elevated to the Court of Appeal Bench in 2002 where she served in various Divisions and rose to become Presiding Justice, Benin Division from July 2009 – September 2010; Presiding Justice, Enugu Division from September 2010 – September 2011; Presiding Justice, Kaduna Division from September 2011 – September 2012; Presiding Justice, Lagos Division from September 2012 – November 2016.
On 7 November, 2016, Hon. Justice Amina Adamu Augie was elevated as Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria making her the sixth woman to serve on the SCN.
Institutional Affiliations And Professional Affiliations
– Chairman, Recovery of Public Properties Tribunal, Sokoto State from 1995 – 1996.
– Chairman, Failed Banks (Recovery of Debts) and Financial Malpractices in Banks Tribunal, Lagos from March 1996 – May 29th, 1999.
– Chairman, National Assembly, Governorship and Legislative Houses Election Tribunal from 2000 – 2002.
– Chairman, Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Nigerdock from September 2001 – July 2002.
Other national assignments she has participated include:
Member, National Swimming Team, 1973 – 1976;
Federal Government Delegate, United Nations Decade for Women Conference, Nairobi, Kenya, July 1985;
Member, National Committee on Prisons Reforms, 1992;
International Director, National Association of Women Judges, 1997 – 2000;
Member, National Working Group on Juvenile Justice Administration, July 2002;
Chairman, Experts Consultative Meeting – Passage of Child Rights Bill, March 2003;
Member, National Child Rights Implementation Committee, September 2003;
Chairman, National Facilitators of the Child Rights Act, April 2004;
Member, Board of Trustees, Human Development Initiatives (HDI) and Child Rights Education Centre, 2007 to date;
Member, Kebbi State Pilgrims Welfare Board, 2007 – 2016;
Member, Board of Directors, Institute of Human Rights and Development in Africa, Banjul, The Gambia, 2008 – 2014.
She has attended various Workshops, Seminars and Conferences namely:
The 4th Biennial International Conference of International Association of Women Judges, Ottawa, Canada, May 1998;
Judicial Colloquium on the Application of International Human Rights Law at the Domestic Level, Vienna, Austria, October 1999;
African Development Forum (ADF III and IV), Addis Ababa, March 2002 and October 2004;
Judicial Colloquium on the Death Penalty, Lake Naivasha, Kenya, 2005;
International Conference of International Association of Women Judges, Sydney, Australia, 2006 and Washington DC, USA, 2016.
Academic Contributions
Aside having being a lecture, she has presented over 75 papers in Nigeria, United Kingdom, South Africa, Ethiopia and Ghana. She is a writer and has about 15 publications in various books and seminar/workshop publications.
Honours
In September, 2014, Hon. Justice Amina Augie was conferred with the prestigious National Honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).
She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitration and a recipient of the honour Fellowship of Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, November 2016.
She has also won several awards and recognitions including Faculty Prize for Best Overall Student of University of Ife, 1977, Phoebe Chiadikobi Ajayi Prize for Best Female Student (Ife), 1977, Amicable Assurance Prize for Best Student (Ife), 1977. She has also received Merit Awards, from The Law Students’ Society, University of Ibadan, 2006, International Association of Women Judges (Africa Region), 2005, Federation of Muslim Women (FOMWAN), Edo State Chapter, 2005, National Association of Democratic Lawyers with the Ford Foundation, 2005, Nigerian Law School Graduating Class of 1988, 2003, Sokoto State Students, 2001, Gamji Club, Sokoto, 1992, Faculty of Law Students, Uthman Danfodio University, Sokoto, 1991, Lagos State Judiciary, 2016, Kebbi State, 2016 and Court of Appeal, 2014.
Family
She was married to senator, Adamu Augie (deceased, 2001) and blessed with four children.