Erudite Lawyer G O K Ajayi Is Dead

Godwin Olusegun Kolawole (GOK) Ajayi, a chief and one of the legal profession’s giants, is dead.

The late Ajayi, a progressive inclined lawyer, who practised for 59 years, died in a Lagos hospital Friday night. He was 82.

To lawyers, the death of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) has left a major vacuum in the profession.

The late Ajayi represented the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the late Chief Moshood Abiola and the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi.

He also handled landmark cases, including the deportation of the late Abdulraham Shugaba, the Second Republic Majority Leader of the Borno State House of Assembly, which he won.

Family sources said the late Ajayi died after an illness, which prevented him from practising law for some years.

Leading lawyers and members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) expressed yesterday shock at Ajayi’s death.

The lawyers eulogised the legal icon, who they described as “an exceptional bar man”.

To former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN), Ajayi’s demise is a great disaster and loss to the legal profession.

Akinjide who is of the 1978 set of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) with Ajayi, described him as “a great man”.

“My condolences goes to his wife and children. May his soul rest in peace”, he said.

Former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN), Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN) and Mr. Festus Keyamo described the late G.O.K Ajayi as a complete gentleman, who will be missed by all.

Ojo said his death had drawn the curtains on possibly the finest era of legal activism in the country.

“He was at the forefront of law for the benefit of humanity. He stood permanently on the side of the oppressed. You can always predict where you would meet him; on the side of justice.

“He fought a gallant battle of life. He conquered. His legacies are unimpeachable.

“The justice sector in Nigeria has lost a constant voice of truth. Africa has lost a bright legal mind.

“When history of legal titans who shaped and re-shaped their worlds is being told, a befitting page is assured for the legendary G.O.K.”