Former Dean of University of Lagos Law Faculty and Attorney-General of Lagos State remembered for scholarship, advocacy and decades of influence on Nigeria’s legal profession
Professor Alfred Bandele Kasunmu, SAN, one of Nigeria’s most distinguished legal scholars and advocates and a senior figure of the Nigerian Bar, has died at the age of 92.
The Kasunmu family announced his death in a statement on Sunday, saying the renowned lawyer, scholar, mentor, father, grandfather and great-grandfather died peacefully in the early hours of August 9, 2026.
“With gratitude to God for a life well spent, we announce the passing of our beloved father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Professor Alfred Bandele Kasunmu SAN, who departed peacefully in the early hours of Sunday 9th August 2026,” the family said.
The family described the late professor as “a distinguished scholar, mentor, and Senior Advocate of Nigeria” whose life was defined by wisdom, integrity and service to the law, education and humanity.
“We take solace in the remarkable life he lived and the countless lives he touched through his dedication to the law, education, and humanity,” the statement added.
The family said funeral arrangements would be announced later and asked for prayers during the period of mourning.
A life built around law and scholarship
Born in Lagos on May 23, 1934, Kasunmu belonged to a generation of Nigerian lawyers who helped shape the country’s legal profession during the years surrounding independence and the decades that followed.
He was educated at Elizabeth Fowler Memorial School, Reagan Memorial Baptist School and Baptist Academy in Lagos before proceeding to University College London, where he studied law. He subsequently studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and later at Columbia University School of Law in the United States.
He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1964 and began an academic career that would run alongside his legal practice.
Kasunmu lectured at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, from 1964 to 1971 before moving to the University of Lagos. He became a professor of law in 1973 and served as Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1973 to 1975.
His academic reputation was established early. Among his published works was Nigerian Family Law, published in 1966, a work that became part of the literature on Nigerian family law and reflected his longstanding interest in the relationship between law, society and Nigerian legal institutions.
From academia to public office
Kasunmu’s career was not confined to the university or the courtroom.
After serving as Dean of Law at the University of Lagos, he became Attorney-General of Lagos State, a position he held from 1975 to 1978.
He returned to private legal practice in 1978, establishing Professor A.B. Kasunmu’s Chambers, which went on to become one of the enduring names in Nigerian legal practice.
The chambers, founded in 1978, developed practices covering litigation, dispute resolution, corporate and commercial law, property, family law, taxation, maritime law, intellectual property and other areas. Its current profile describes the firm as having represented multinational corporations, financial institutions and private clients and as having been involved in significant litigation before Nigerian courts.
SAN since 1979
Kasunmu was conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 1979, placing him among the earliest recipients of the prestigious rank.
The Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria currently lists him as its most senior SAN, noting that he had held that distinction since 1979 and had served as Vice-Chairman of the organisation.
His name also appears in numerous reported Nigerian cases, including proceedings before the Supreme Court.
In Co-operative & Commerce Bank (Nigeria) Plc v. Attorney-General of Anambra State, decided by the Supreme Court in 1992, Kasunmu appeared as counsel for the appellant. He also appeared in International Textile Industries (Nigeria) Ltd v. Aderemi, a 1999 Supreme Court decision.
His chambers has continued to identify several reported cases handled by the firm as significant decisions on questions ranging from injunctions and commercial law to arbitration, capital markets and civil procedure.
One of the cases associated with his practice was Kasunmu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, a Court of Appeal decision which examined issues concerning the role of legal practitioners in capital-market transactions under Nigeria’s securities legislation.
A teacher whose influence extended beyond the classroom
For generations of Nigerian lawyers, Kasunmu’s influence extended beyond the cases in which his name appeared.
His career combined three worlds that rarely coexist for so long at the same level: university scholarship, public legal service and private advocacy.
His time at the University of Lagos placed him among the academics who helped shape legal education in the country at a formative period, while his years in government brought him directly into the administration of justice and public law.
Private practice then gave him a platform from which he continued to practise, write, mentor younger lawyers and build a legal institution around his name.
The annual Professor A.B. Kasunmu, SAN Lecture, established in his honour, became another expression of that continuing influence. The ninth edition was held at the University of Lagos in July 2019 and featured a lecture on democracy, federalism and national unity.
A legacy measured in institutions
Kasunmu’s death closes a long chapter in the history of Nigerian legal education and advocacy.
He belonged to a generation that entered the legal profession when Nigeria was still developing many of the institutions that now define its legal system. Over the decades, he moved between academia, government and private practice, leaving a record that was unusual for its breadth and longevity.
His chambers, founded nearly five decades ago, remains part of the legal profession he helped shape. The firm says it has built its practice around litigation, dispute resolution and legal advisory work and continues to handle matters before courts across Nigeria.
For the family, however, the professor, SAN and former Attorney-General was first a husband and father, and later a grandfather and great-grandfather.
The family said they were taking solace in the life he lived and the people he influenced.
“May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace,” the statement said.
Funeral arrangements and visitation details will be announced by the family.
