Bola Ajibola, a former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of Nigeria has died at the age of 89.

Ajibola, was also a former Judge of the International Court of Justice, Hague, Netherlands, Prince Bola Ajibola, is dead.

He died on Saturday midnight after a long-time illness.

He was the founder of Crescent University, Abeokuta, a result of old age.

The eldest child of the late jurist, Segun Ajibola, SAN, disclosed this in a statement, on Sunday in Abeokuta.

“With very deep heart and gratitude to Almighty Allah,” he said.

“Our Dad, Prince Bola Ajibola, departed this world over midnight. May Almighty Allah bless him with Aljanah Firdaus.”

Here are a few things to know about Ajibola:

Born 22nd March 1934, Ajibola hailed from Owu, near Abeokuta, Ogun state, the Southwest region of Nigeria, and died 7th April 2023.

Ajibola attended both Owu Baptist Day School and Baptist Boys’ High School in Abeokuta between 1942 and 1955.

He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Law (LL.B) at the Holborn College of Law, University of London between 1959 and 1962.

He was called to the English Bar at the Lincoln’s Inn in 1962. He returned to Nigeria to practise Law, specialising in Commercial Law and International Arbitration.

Ajibola, a Nigerian jurist, became the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice of Nigeria from 1985 to 1991 under the regime of former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida.

He also emerged as a Judge of the International Court of Justice from 1991 to 1994.

He was president of the Nigerian Bar Association from 1984 to 1985.

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

From 1999 to 2002, under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, he served as the High Commissioner of Nigeria to the United Kingdom.

Ajibola was chairman of the panel set up by the Plateau State government to probe the 2008 Jos riots.

He established an Islamic and co-educational institution, Crescent University, in Nigeria in 2005, and he serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN).

He attained numerous global recognitions which included Association of World Lawyers

Commonwealth Law Association

Vice President, Institute of International Business Law and Practice, Paris

Vice-Chairman, International Court of Justice, The Hague (1991-1994); President, World Bank Administrative Tribunal

Judge, Constitution Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1994-2002); Member, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID); and

Member, Permanent Court of Arbitration

Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London, among others.