Adetokunbo
Ademola
Sir Adetokunbo Adegboyega Ademola, KBE, GCON, PC, SAN (1 February 1906 - 29
January 1993) was a Nigerian jurist who was the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria from 1958 to 1972. He was appointed as Chief
Justice on April 1, 1958, replacing Sir Stafford Foster Sutton who was
retiring. Ademola was a son of Oba Ladapo Ademola II, the Alake of the Egba clan of Nigeria. He was the first chancellor of the University of
Benin. [1]
Early life & education
Sir
Adetokunbo was born on February 1, 1906 into royalty as the son of Prince Ladapo and Tejumade Ademola. His father was a regent of the
Egba United Government in Lagos and later became Ademola II, the Alake of
Egbaland, Abeokuta, a historic walled city of Egbas in south-western Nigeria.
His mother was a senior sister to Adeyemo Alakija. At the age of four, he lived briefly with
his maternal grandfather, Pa Alakija, in Abeokuta and a year later he started
his primary education at the Roman Catholic School in Itesi, Abeokuta.[1] He moved back to Lagos when he was eight to
live with his mother in the family compound on Broad St and subsequently continued
his education at Holy Cross School, Lagos. He attended St Gregory's Grammar
School, Obalende and King's College Lagos for his secondary school
education.[2] He finished his secondary education in 1925
and passed the Senior Clerical Examination for admission into the colonial
Civil Service. He gained appointment as a clerk in the Chief Secretary's office
of the National Secretariat, Lagos. From 1928 to 1931, Ademola studied law at Selwyn College, University of Cambridge. From 1958 to 1972, he
served as Chief
Justice.
Career
Sir
Adetokunbo was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in London in 1934. After returning to
Nigeria and at the insistence of his father,[1] he joined the Civil Service and from 1934-35, he
worked as crown counsel it the Office of the Attorney-General. He then joined
the unified Nigeria administrative service and for a year, he was posted to
Enugu as assistant secretary at the southern secretariat, Eastern Nigeria. He left the service and
started a private practice from 1936 until 1939, when he was appointed
Magistrate of the Protectorate Court. In 1938, he joined the Nigerian Youth Movement. As a magistrate, he was
posted to various Nigerian towns; Ademola worked in Warri from 1939-1946, and then
returned to Lagos in 1946 to preside at St Anna Court. In 1947, he was posted
to Opobo. In 1949 he became the third Nigerian to be appointed a
puisne judge. In 1948 he served as a member of the commission for the revision
of court legislation.
In
1955, a year before Western Nigeria became internally self-governing, Sir
Adetokunbo was appointed Chief Justice for Western Nigeria, thus becoming the
first Nigerian head of the judiciary anywhere in Nigeria. His string of
'firsts' continued when, three years later, he became the first Nigerian Chief
Justice of the entire Federation of Nigeria. As Chief Justice, he played the
role of peacemaker in two political events in the country. In 1964, after the
stalemate of national elections, Nnamdi Azikiwe, the president refused to call any party to
form a government until the intervention of Louis Mbanefo, the Chief Justice of the Eastern region and
Ademola. [3] He later went on to play a calming role in
the aftermath of the 1966 coup when some northern officers wanted to secede
from the country.[4]
As
Chief Justice, Ademola was involved in some notable judgements during his
tenure, in both Regina vs Ilorin Native Authority [5] and Ayinke vs Ibidunni, he delved into the
issue of customary law. He was also involved in various constitutional cases
during the period. Some of the cases are Doherty v Abubakar Balewa, Adesoji
Aderemi v Samuel Akintola and Olawoyin vs the Commissioner of Police. Sir
Adetokunbo, along with Dr. Teslim Olawale Elias (who succeeded him as
Chief Justice of Nigeria) was instrumental in the establishment of the Nigerian
Law School. Prior to its establishment, legal practitioners had had to qualify
at the English Bar.[6]
During
Ademola's tenure, the federal government changed from colonial rule to a
parliamentary system then into military rule. Ademola as head of the judiciary
was not found wanting as a man respected by his peers and who was able to
compromise and accord respect for the judicial branch of government. However,
some critics perceived he was lenient towards the executive branch.[7] Ademola preferred a unified judiciary, even
though, he was once a regional Chief Justice, it did not deter his preference
for a unified structure.[8]
Knighthood, Honours & Memberships
Adetokunbo
Ademola was a prince of the Yoruba people, and thus often made use of the pre-nominal
honorific Omoba. He was first knighted in
January, 1957, and in 1963 was appointed a member of the Privy
Council of the United Kingdom. Later that year, Queen Elizabeth II awarded him a K.B.E.. By
serving as Chief Justice of Nigeria, Sir Adetokunbo was conferred with the
title Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) by the federal
government of the Republic of Nigeria.[citation needed]
Sir
Adetokunbo was also a member of the United Nations International Public Service
Advisory Board, member of the International commission of Jurists, executive
member of World peace through Law, vice president of the World
Association of Jurists, president of the Nigerian Red Cross Association,
chairman of Nigeria Cheshire homes, member of the International Olympic
committee, member of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs and
president of the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity.
In
addition to all of this, he was both one of the founders and eventual chairman
of the Metropolitan Club, a founding member of the Island Club and vice patron
of the Yoruba Club.
Personal life
He
married the former Miss Kofo Moore, who obtained a BA at Oxford and was
daughter of the late Eric Moore, first Lagos member of the United nations
committee of experts advising on labor conventions and regulations.[9]
References
· Coker, Folarin (1972). Sir Adetokunbo
Ademola, Chief Justice of the Federation of Nigeria : a biography. Lagos:
Times Press.
· · Soyinka, Kayode (12 February 1993). "Obituary: Sir Adetokunbo Ademola". The Independent. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
· · Uwakah, Oneyebuchi (1997). Due process in
Nigeria's administrative law system: History, current status, and future.
Lanham, Md:: University Press of America. p. 106.
· · http://nigerianlawresources.com/introduction_to_nigerian_legal_education_leesi_ebenezer_mitee.html
· · 232
· · Ade.Ajayi, J.F.; Akinseye-George, Yemi
(2002). Kayode Eso; The Making of a Judge. Ibadan: Spectrum Books. p. 232.
ISBN 978029452X.
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