Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, on Wednesday said Nigeria lost a legendary and exceedingly “cerebral legal luminary, with the demise of Chief Richard Osuolale Akinjide (SAN).
Bamidele described Akinjide, former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, as a global figure in the “Temple of Justice”, having attained the enviable height of Queens’ Counsel in England and SAN.
The lawmaker, in his condolence message to the deceased’s family, said history had consigned Akinjide to the right side as someone who dedicated his stupendous mental knack to develop the country.
Reeling out accolades on the legal giant for being one of the pioneers of robust legal practice in Nigeria, Bamidele said Akinjide’s dazzling command of English Language and ad infinitum knowledge about law were an advantage of colossal measures to the Nigerian nation.
He said: “Chief Richard Akinjide was an all-rounded person. In terms of legal mastery, he was superb. In fact, he was one of the pioneers of robust legal practice in Nigeria.
“Having caught his teeth in England, he later returned home to join a few other compatriots to make legal profession and Nigeria arenas of pride.
“The late ex-AGF was a Colossus in the courtroom, an exemplar in the political turf and a highly venerated stickler for rules, discipline, morality, good conduct, etc.
“His charismatic posture added immeasurable panache to legal practice and made it a captivating and darling profession to the present generation of practitioners, including me.”
According to Bamidele, who is also a member of the prestigious Body of Benchers, It won’t be gainsaid to state that Chief Akinjide donated his entire life to the nation by participating in every facet of constitutional drafting process to give the country a foundation for good governance and development of our constitutional democracy.
He prayed that the good Lord would grant his soul eternal rest in His bosom.