Tinubu mourns Bola Ajibola, ex- minister of justice

Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, has mourned the death of Bola Ajibola, former minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation.

Ajibola died on Sunday at the age of 89.

He served as the minister of justice during the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida and was also the president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)

In a statement on Sunday, Tinubu described Ajibola as a patriotic citizen whose contributions to the country’s development will be documented in gold.

“I received the news of the passing, on Sunday, of Prince Bola Ajibola, SAN at 89, with profound sadness,” Tinubu said.

“The former Nigeria’s minister of justice and leader of the bar was an eminent statesman and legal icon whose contributions to national progress and development will be written in gold.

“During his earthly sojourn, Prince Ajibola didn’t just serve his country with his gift of extraordinary brilliance as a lawyer, he served the world as a judge of International Court of Justice in Hague and member of its Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).

“As ICJ judge, Ajibola made his mark as one of the brightest legal minds in the world in many decided cases involving state actors across the world. Through his excellent performance, he brought honour and dignity to Nigeria.

“In his later years, he devoted himself to the promotion of Islam and expansion of the frontier of knowledge through training and development of cutting-edge manpower for national  growth with the establishment of Crescent University in Abeokuta, his home-town.

“Ajibola will be remembered for his patriotism and love for Nigeria and his countrymen and women regardless of their ethnic origin or religious persuasions.

“Although we had hoped and prayed that Ajibola would still be around with us for a little more time to witness the dawn of a new era of renewed hope for our people in a better, stronger, more secure and more prosperous Nigeria, however, we thank Almighty Allah that he lived to an advanced age and left behind important legacies.

- Cuĺled from The Cable