President-elect Bola Tinubu has mourned the demise of Bola Ajibola, former International Court of Justice (ICJ) judge at The Hague.

Mr Ajibola passed away in Abeokuta on Sunday.

He was 89.

In a condolence message signed by his spokesman Tunde Rahman, Mr Tinubu commiserated with the deceased’s family, associates and professional colleagues.

Mr Tinubu also extended his condolences to Governor Dapo Abiodun and the Ogun people.

While expressing his sympathy, the president-elect acknowledged Mr Ajibola’s important contributions to Nigeria’s political evolution, nation-building, the legal profession, and international jurisprudence.

“The former Nigeria’s minister of justice and leader of the Bar was an eminent statesman and legal icon whose contributions to national progress and development will be written in gold,” said the statement. “During his earthly sojourn, Ajibola didn’t just serve his country with his gift of extraordinary brilliance as a lawyer, he served the world as a judge of International Court of Justice in Hague and member of its Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).”

The statement further noted that as ICJ judge, Mr Ajibola made his mark as one of the “brightest legal minds in the world in many decided cases involving state actors across the world.”

“Through his excellent performance,” it said, “he brought honour and dignity to Nigeria.”

The president-elect stated that the deceased devoted himself to promoting Islam and expanding the frontiers of knowledge through training and development of “cutting-edge manpower for national growth” with the establishment of Crescent University in Abeokuta, his hometown.

Mr Tinubu noted that Mr Ajibola would be remembered for his patriotism and love for Nigeria and his countrymen and women regardless of their ethnic origin or religious persuasions.

(NAN)