Former minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation Chief Abimbola Osuolale Richard Akinjide is Dead. The 88-year-old legal icon died in his Ibadan, Oyo State, home.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria had been indisposed for about three years
According to a source close to the family, the remains of the legal luminary has been deposited at a morgue.
The frontline Yoruba leader was a Minister of Education in the first republic, during the government of Prime Minister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa and Minister for Justice in the second republic, during the administration of President Shehu Shagari.
He was a member of the judicial systems sub-committee of the Constitutional Drafting Committee of 1975-1977 and later joined the National Party of Nigeria in 1978. He became the legal adviser for the party and was later appointed the Minister for Justice.
As Attorney General, it was under his watch that Nigeria temporarily reversed executions of armed robbers. The Abolition of a decree barring exiles from returning to the country.
He was the lead prosecutor in the treason trial of Bukar Zanna Mandara. The eviction of many illegal foreign nationals from Nigeria which contributed to mild violence against some foreigners in the country. The event also exposed some weaknesses within the West African economic community.
He was a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic (PDP).
