Bola Ajibola interred, Buhari eulogises, as Osinbajo, Obasanjo, Sultan, Osoba, monarchs attend burial at IMA

*He was one of Nigeria’s elder statesmen of all times – Gen. Olanrewaju

*He was respectable judge – Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC)

* My father was deep in generosity, passionate about Nigeria and religious man to the core – Adesegun

*A legal icon who used the law for the masses – Ozekhome

*Nigeria has lost global jurist, he lived a fulfilled life, say SGF, Malami, NBA president, SANs

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

“Ajibola was a great Nigerian, a legal icon and first-class lawyer, who was a courtroom gladiator and one of the best attorneys general we had in the country. In his class, we had people like Clement Akpamgbo. They were unique, they were distinct and they knew the law. They knew that the law was to be used for the masses and not for the government that appointed them.”

The remains of former Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, who grew further to becoming a Judge of the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands, Prince Abdul-Jabbar Adesumbo Bolashodun Ajibola popularly called Bola Ajibola (SAN), have been laid to rest.

Judge Ajibola, who died in the early hours of Sunday April 9, 2023, was buried after Janazah, Islamic prayer, led by Chief Imam of Egba Land, Sheikh Sa’dallah Bamgbola, after solatul Asri around 4pm in a grave site he chose for himself between his most cherished legacy project of Mosjidul Al-Jabbar and the IMA Hospital, both at the heart of the Islamic Mission for Africa (IMA), MKO Abiola Way in his hometown of Abeokuta, Ogun State, according to Muslim rites.

His funeral ceremony was well attended as Nigeria gathered to pay her last respect with the Muhammadu Buhari’s Federal Government’s Delegation fully on ground led by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), who also attended naturally in his personal capacity as one of many godsons and former Ministerial Aide of the late former AGF/Minister of Justice.

Very many other dignitaries that graced the event included the last-of-the-three childhood friends now standing and former President of Nigeira, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former Governor of Osun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, Delegation of Sultan of Sokoto’s Presidency of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and that of Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) led by Deputy President General (NSCIA), Alhaji Rasak Oladejo, former Military Governor of defunct Western State, Major General Olu Rotimi (Rtd), Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele, business magnate, Alhaji Tijani Tunde Folawiyo, among very many other countless figures who hastened to be counted as part of the all-important Bola Ajibola’s funeral ceremony at IMA, Abeokuta on Sunday.

Bola Ajibola served as pioneer Chairman of the Board of Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), founded the Islamic Mission for Africa (IMA) of which several projects and programmes included the contributions he made to the education with regular annual scholarships to 30 indigent students to study in higher institutions, healthcare, agriculture and hospitality projects among others.

Ajibola, who was founder and Proprietor of the Crescent University, Abeokuta, which he established to showcase ‘Citadel of Academic and Moral Excellence” under the aegis of the Islamic Mission for Africa (IMA) and also a former Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, died at 89.

According to a statement by his eldest child, Barrister Muhammed Mahruf Adesegun Ajibola (SAN), “Judge Ajibola will always be remembered as an icon of Law and Judicature, an embodiment of both the Bar and the Bench.

“Ajibola not only served nationally and internationally, he is warmly loved in his homestead of Abeokuta, where he held the traditional title of Oluomo of Egbaland and Olori Omo Oba of Owu Kingdom.”

Addressing the press as the body of his father was being prepared for final rites, Segun Ajibola further said, “My dad was an extremely humorous person and generous to a fault. We are all beneficiaries of his love and his affection and his wisdom and his discipline. We would miss him dearly. No doubt about that,” he said.

The DEFENDER on Sunday had reported that “Bola Ajibola died on day he is scheduled to address Ramadan Tafsir, his body still attended,” an indication of the place of Islamic Mission for Africa (IMA) in the last years of the citizen of the world as remarkable. It reported further that “It was the reason he once told this reporter that, “Mosjidul Al-Jabbar”, that is Al-Jabbar Mosque built on the premises of IMA “is the biggest achievement I have ever made in my many years of achievements globally”.”

“Not only did he say so, he also chose the point that would be his resting place between the Mosjidul Al-Jabbar Al-Jabbar and the IMA Hospital that he also built on the same IMA premises. He will be buried as prescribed today after the solatul janazah bidding him bye as he is already boarded on the flight to his Lord.

“Of particular interest on this event today is the fact that Prince Bola Ajibola’s name is on the programme of Ramadan Tafsir of IMA standing on item number eight to give his short remarks as President/Founder, Islamic Mission for Africa (IMA). However, because his sun set in the midnight, as the former World Court judge and former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice died before day break, he still attended the Tafsir but as lifeless body and lied in wait for his turn as encomium poured amidst the Ramadan Tafsir event followed by janazah, the Islamic rites for his interment.

“May Allah bless the soul of one of biggest contributors of opportunities, His Excellency Prince Abdul-Jabbar Adesumbo Bolashodun Ajibola SAN, FCI Arb, FNAILS, LL.B, BL, LL.D (H.C.), D.Litt (H.C.), D. Agric (H.C.), KBE, CFR,” the report said on Sunday.

“May Allah bless the soul of one of biggest contributors of opportunities, His Excellency Prince Abdul-Jabbar Adesumbo Bolashodun Ajibola SAN, FCI Arb, FNAILS, LL.B, BL, LL.D (H.C.), D.Litt (H.C.), D. Agric (H.C.), KBE, CFR,” the report said on Sunday.

The tributes

Born on March 22, 1934 in Abeokuta, Prince Bola Ajibola attended Baptist Boys High School, Oke Saje, Abeokuta and University of London. He was President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) between 1984 and 1985. He was Attorney-General and Minister of Justice of Nigeria from 1985 to 1991, and a judge of the International Court of Justice, at The Hague, Netherlands, from 1991 to 1994.

Buhari

President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, in a condolence message by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, commiserated with the legal community in Nigeria and worldwide over the death of the former minister.

President Buhari noted that the outstanding lawyer and eminent jurist used his God-given knowledge, intellect and talent to advocate for justice, fairness and equity in all his undertakings within and outside Nigeria.

“His contributions to the development of our legal system cannot be overstated, serving as the Attorney General and Minister for Justice at a critical period in the nation’s history. His patriotic inclinations, integrity and passion for service and advancement of humanity will continue to resonate after him,” the President said.

Abiodun

Also, Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, commiserated with the nation’s judiciary on the death of Ajibola. In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, Abiodun described Ajibola’s death as a big loss to the judiciary, saying his legacies in the judiciary, philanthropy and the educational development would never be forgotten.

The governor also extended his condolences to the Owu Royal Family of the ex-minister of justice, his friend, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as well as members of the Baptist Boys’ High School Old Students Association.
He said the death of the illustrious son of the state, a celebrated jurist and judicial activist, public intellectual and elder statesman was a severe blow to everyone who knew him.

“He was a jewel of the law profession and an accomplished judicial officer of prodigious hue. Baba was a go-getter who delivered on any assignment committed to his hands because of his belief that service should always come first.
“Besides, he was a great religious influencer and philanthropist who established the faith-based Crescent University in his hometown, Abeokuta,” he said.

Obasanjo

Obasanjo, who was at the residence of the deceased judge to mourn with his widow and children, refused to speak with journalists. Segun, the first son of the deceased, described his father as a great humanitarian, who was very passionate about the unity of Nigeria. According to him, his father lived a life dedicated to the peace, unity and development of Nigeria.

Gen. Olanrewaju

The death by the midnight Sunday of one of few known great contributors of progress and development to Nigeria, Prince Bola Ajibola (SAN), also Sunday attracted reaction from a great Nigerian and former Minister of Communications, Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (Rtd).

General Olanrewaju, in an exclusive reaction to The DEFENDER, said by Ajibola’s death, Nigeria has lost one of her great elder statesmen.

According to the Retired Army General, “Nigeria has lost one of her great elder statesmen of all times. Prince Ajibola was a legal luminary of repute and was well acknowledged as a distinguished judge of the World Court. His death has left a vacuum in the legal profession and would be remembered for a long time for his services to the country.

“Prince Ajibola was a committed Muslim leader, who lived by examples and supported the cause of Islamic values. I extend my sincere condolences to his family. May Almighty Allah grant his soul Aljanah Fridous, Maj-Gen Tajudeen Olanrewaju Rtd,” the statement said.

Ajibola

Speaking to the press at the residence in Hilltop GRA, he noted that his father will be greatly missed for his sense of humour, generosity and religious beliefs.

He said: “My dad was a very personate person, very deep and highly religious in terms of a lot of the efforts he has made in establishing a university, which has an Islamic flavour, in terms of the Islamic Centre he had set up and the way he had conducted himself and his life within the tenets of the religion as much he could possibly.

“For us, as a father he meant so many things. He was very loving, caring but he was a STRICT disciplinarian. He was a VERY strict disciplinarian, very firm and VERY TOUGH personality. And he would never allowed us to get out of hand any way he could help it. And we would remember him for him very high level of humour.

“My dad was an extremely humorous person and generous to a fault. We are all beneficiaries of his love and his affection and his wisdom and his discipline. We would miss him dearly. No doubt about that,” he said.

Ozekhome

Human rights lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), said: “Ajibola was a great Nigerian, a legal icon and first-class lawyer, who was a courtroom gladiator and one of the best attorneys general we had in the country. In his class, we had people like Clement Akpamgbo. They were unique, they were distinct and they knew the law.

“They knew that the law was to be used for the masses and not for the government that appointed them. They knew that they were attorneys general, which is more emphasised than the second aspect, which is minister of justice, because a minister is a mere political appointee, but an attorney general under sections 150 and 174 of the Constitution is the chief law officer of the country that is supposed to use the law as an instrument of social-economic and political engineering and for the benefit of the people, not to support the government in power.

“That was the kind of attorney general he was. And when he was in the ICC, he did Nigeria and Africa proud, because his judgments were incisive and with great scholarship and erudition. He was never found wanting.

“In international law and arbitration, Ajibola was as much at home as he was with municipal laws. Having literally conquered the legal space and the world court space, he returned to Nigeria a very humble man.

“We were together at some of the national conferences, between 2005 and 2014. His carriage and mien showed great humility, which he wore like a second skin. He never looked down on anyone.

“Having served the nation in some of those respects, he decided to venture into academia by setting up Crescent University, one of the top-rated universities in Nigeria. He was a colossus, who dominated several fields and worlds.

“When I heard that he had died, the first thing I did was to quickly check his age and discovered he was only 89. I wish he had lived longer because in his reticent and smiling visage, he is an irreplaceable and irreparable loss to Nigeria.”

Alegeh

Former NBA president, Austine Alegeh (SAN), said: “Ajibola was a nice man. He knew the law and worked for the law. He interpreted the law very well and ensured everything was done according to the law. He never interpreted the law to suit anybody’s position. He interpreted it according to what he believed the law was.

“At the international court, he represented Nigeria with dignity. He was knowledgeable and knew what was required of him. He served the country with dignity, candour and commitment. When you see people who served like that, you will know that they put in their best. The Bar will miss him as the leading light of our time.”

Mustapha

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, on behalf of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), on Sunday, mourned the death of Ajibola.

The SGF, in chronicling his contributions to the development of the legal profession both locally and internationally, described him as a respectable judge.

“FEC condoles with the government and people of Ogun, family and friends of the deceased, and prays to God to grant him Aljanah Firdaus.” Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), in a statement, said the death of Ajibola created a huge vacuum in the nation’s legal space, adding that as a patriotic citizen, the late former AGF was a seasoned legal icon of international repute, whose impact remain indelible in Nigeria’s history and beyond.

While praying God for the repose of the soul of the deceased, Malami also prayed that the Almighty grant the nation, families of the deceased, Ogun State and indeed the entire nation the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

Also, the NBA president, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), described Ajibola as a selfless Nigerian. “As Attorney-General and Minister of Justice between 1985 and 1991, Prince Ajibola was reputed to never take home a salary, asking that same should be distributed to the coffers of Federal Government, the NBA and charitable/humanitarian organisations.

“As an elder statesman and an international icon, Ajibola was chairman of Nigerian delegation to the Nigerian-Cameroon Mixed Commission on the Bakassi Peninsula. He also served as Vice President and later President of the World Bank Administrative Tribunal from 1994 to 2005; President, World Association of the World Jurists and Arbitrator, Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Dispute Commission.”