As Nigeria mourns the passing of Prince Bola Ajibola, SAN, Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, SAN has made disclosures about how a foreign contractor and a top Nigerian lawyer attempted to corruptly influence the late ex-Judge of the International Criminal Court.
The former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice who passed on 8 April 2023 at age of 89, appointed then 30 years old Prof. Osinbajo as a special adviser
While delivering the Centenary Lecture of Baptist Boys’ High School (BBHS) days ago, the vice president who spoke on the subject: “Values: the difference between Success and Failure,” said an ethical revolution is necessary to fast-track Nigeria’s development extolled the values of his former principal, Prince Bola Ajibola.
According to the Vice President, “a foreign contractor who had won a very lucrative contract from the federal government went to give Prince Ajibola’s son who was in the university in England, a brand new Golf car. His son then contacted his father and this made Prince Ajibola so angry to the extent that I had to calm him down physically.
“Not only was the gift returned but the conduct of the man was reported to the government of his country and that government made a special apology to our own government and to Prince Bola Ajibola. I can also remember that the man in question also came to the ministry to apologise to the Attorney-General.
“The second incident was the case of a commercial aircraft arrested in Nigeria for carrying drugs. The Office of the Attorney-General was, of course, responsible for ensuring the arrest. A very successful lawyer whose name I must not mention claimed to be acting as an intermediary for an interested party somehow connected to the aircraft and they came to Prince Bola Ajibola to offer him some bribe in foreign exchange. When I recall how Prince Ajibola shouted at the senior lawyer and ordered him out of his office, I still remember the shame and fear on the face of the man.
“Those are just two out of many that show that public service is public service and bribes or ‘thank you’ are totally unacceptable.”
Meanwhile the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, SAN, who described Judge Ajibola as “lover of education and believer in the potentials of young Nigerians” has commiserated with the family of the late Ajibola, SAN, the Owu kingdom, the management, staff and students of Crescent University, Abeokuta, the government and good people of Ogun State.
Bola Ajibola was President of the NBA between 1984 and 1985. In 1985, he became Nigeria’s Attorney-General/Minister of Justice, a position he occupied before moving to the International Court of Justice, Den Hague, Netherlands. After a three-year stint at the World Court in 1994, he further served as Judge Ad Hoc of the World Court from 1994 to 2002. He was appointed Judge of the Constitutional Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also served as the Nigeria High Commissioner to the United Kingdom between 1999 and 2002. The former NBA President was also Chairman of the Body of Benchers and Council of Legal Education.
Maikyau in a statement signed by Akorede Habeeb Lawal, the National Publicity Secretary of NBA described him as a selfless Nigerian while noting that 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.
“An elder statesman and an international icon, Prince 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.
“A lover of education and believer in the potentials of young Nigerians, Prince Ajibola established Islamic Mission for Africa in 1996, which metamorphosed into the present day Crescent University in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
“The NBA President prays for the repose of the soul of late Prince Bola Ajibola, SAN, and beseeches God Almighty to forgive him and grant family and friends the fortitude to bear this huge loss”, Maikyau concluded.
