By Damilare Adeleye
A former chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, is dead.
He was said to have died at the age of 90 on Tuesday.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the deceased family on Wednesday.
The statement read, “With heartfelt gratitude to the Lord Almighty, for a life beautifully lived, we announce the passing away of our beloved Dad, granddad, great-granddad, brother, uncle, benefactor, and friend, Hon. Justice Emmanuel Olayinka Ayoola (JSC, rtd; CON).”
Ayoola was born on 27 October 1933 to the family of Dorcas (Longe) Ayoola and Emmanuel Olarenwaju Ayoola. The former ICPC chairman obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of London and a BA in Jurisprudence from Oxford University.
In 1957, he was called to the English Bar at Lincoln’s Inn. In 1959, he was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
He became the Chairman of Western Nigeria Housing Corporation in 1974 and also served as a member of the Commonwealth Africa Conference Chief Justices and Judges.
He was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Western Nigeria and, soon after, a judge of the High Court of Oyo State in 1976. He served as a Justice of the Court of Appeal of The Gambia from 1980 to 1983 and was Chief Justice of The Gambia from 1983 to 1992.
Ayoola was Vice President of the World Judges Association in 1991. He became the President of the Court of Appeal of Seychelles, Justice of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria (1992–1998), and Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria (1998–2003).
He retired in October 2003 at the mandatory age of 70.He served as the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria from 2003 to 2005. Following his retirement, he also chaired the Working Committee on Law Revision of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria in 2000.
In 2004, Ayoola was appointed President of the Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. He was then appointed Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission in 2005, where he served until 2010.
The former ICPC chairman was an active member of the National Judicial Council until early 2023.