Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Sunday mourned the demise of Bola Ajibola, former International Court of Justice (ICJ) judge of The Hague.

Mr Ajibola passed on in Abeokuta on Sunday at the age of 89 years.

In a statement he issued in Abuja, Mr Abubakar described the former attorney general and the minister of justice of Nigeria (1985 – 1991) as a great man of impeccable virtue.

Mr Abubakar said he was “pained but happy because, being a Muslim, I am certain that Ajibola would himself, have elected to make his passing in the glorious month of Ramadan.’’

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the March 18 election added that Mr Ajibola would be remembered as a doyen of the law profession and a jurist of note.

“He did the country proud when he served at The International Court of Justice at The Hague, as well as during his years of service as Nigeria’s envoy to the United Kingdom,” he noted. “What was spectacular about the late eminent jurist was how his values of forthrightness and candour, which, by the way, is emblematic of his Egba heritage, reflected in all other spheres of his earthly engagements.”

Mr Atiku added, “As a diplomat, jurist and educationist, what was consistent about his character was his overwhelming presence of rectitude and forbearance in every of his endeavour. Those qualities of his personality are the secret codes to his achievements in life. I am sure that they are qualities that his family and friends will be proud of and immortalise in his memory.”

The former vice-president also stated that Mr Ajibola was always at peace with his creator and fellow humans, stressing that “the legacies of his lifetime should be a beacon that should call younger Nigerians to an exemplary life that he lived.’’

Mr Abubakar condoled with Mr Ajibola’s family and the people and government of Ogun. He stated that Nigeria and the entire world would mourn the deceased.

Mr Ajibola, the founder of Crescent University, Abeokuta, was the president of the Nigerian Bar Association from 1984 to 1985.

He was also one of five commissioners on the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, established through the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

He was the high commissioner of Nigeria to the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2002. 

(NAN)