Agbakoba, Falana Extol Onagoruwa

A former National President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Dr
Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) and human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, on
Friday expressed grief over the death of a one-time Justice
Minister, Dr Olu Onagoruwa, describing him as a liberal lawyer and
a fighter.

Agbakoba, who said he was saddened by his passing, described him
as a compatriot and fighter in the struggle for democracy in
Nigeria.

“The news of the death of Dr Onagoruwa is indeed a sad one; he
was a personal friend of mine, who played a very crucial role in
the struggle for democracy and had come across very turbulent
times.

“For us in the legal profession this is indeed a sad loss, but
like I always say in situations like this, it is the will of God to
recall
people.

“It is indeed a sad loss, but certainly the will of God,” he
told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

For Falana (SAN), Onagoruwa was a liberal and an upright man,
who lived for justice, equity and law and order.

He said: “Dr Olu Onagoruwa was a liberal lawyer, who believed in
the bourgeois concept of the rule of law.

“When the late Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) and I were detained on
several occasions by the military government, he always challenged
our detention in court.

“His principled commitment to the defence of the rule of law
made him to clash with the legal establishment, and at the time the
system reluctantly admitted him to the inner bar, he had called it
quits with the legal practice.

“He was convinced that a fascist and corrupt system (late Gen.
Sani Abacha’s dictatorship) could be reformed from within; so, he
accepted to be Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.”

Falana commiserated with the family and pray to God to grant
them the courage to bear the loss.

Also, a veteran journalist and accomplished court reporter, Mr
Richard Akinnola, extolled the virtues of Onagoruwa, describing him
as a brilliant lawyer.

“His intellectual fecundity was not in doubt particularly on
constitutional law. For years, in conjunction with his then
struggle soul- mate, Gani Fawehinmi, he was a thorn in the flesh of
the various military governments.

“Each time Gani was incarcerated, he stood as his lawyer and
vice versa. I recall that under the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida-led
junta, it was a usual practice for him and Gani to have midnight
phone conversations. Then, there was no GSM but land phones.

“Fully aware that their phones were wire tapped and their
conversations being recorded by the security agencies, both Dr
Onagoruwa and Gani would deliberately spew forth expletives against
the government. It was their ways of getting back at the government
which had incessantly harassed them.

“But when the dark-goggled Abacha came on board as the Head of
State, he sent Dr Onagoruwa’s (Odogbolu in Ogun) kinsman, Gen.
Oladipo Diya to Onagoruwa and his mission was to appoint Onagoruwa
as the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.

“Onagoruwa informed his bossom friend Gani of this offer and
Gani sternly warned him to stay clear and reject the offer. But
Onagoruwa was inclined to accept, trying to convince his friend of
the need to use the opportunity to correct what they had been
clamouring for.

“However, the assassination of his son, who worked for the
National Intelligence Agency (NIA), a very brilliant boy with Ph.D,
Onagoruwa was totally devastated that he had stroke and he never
fully recovered till he died today,” he said in an ode.

Onagoruwa authored several books including the Nigerian Civil
War: Fundamental Human Rights and International law 1969, the
Amakiri Case; Press Freedom in crisis 1978 and Law and Contemporary
Nigeria Reflections 2004.

Onagoruwa, who attended the Academy of American and
International Law Center, USA on a full scholarship, served as a
law lecturer in various Nigerian institutions including the
Nigerian Institute of Journalism.

A former National President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Dr
Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) and human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, on
Friday expressed grief over the death of a one-time Justice
Minister, Dr Olu Onagoruwa, describing him as a liberal lawyer and
a fighter.

Agbakoba, who said he was saddened by his passing, described him
as a compatriot and fighter in the struggle for democracy in
Nigeria.

“The news of the death of Dr Onagoruwa is indeed a sad one; he
was a personal friend of mine, who played a very crucial role in
the struggle for democracy and had come across very turbulent
times.

“For us in the legal profession this is indeed a sad loss, but
like I always say in situations like this, it is the will of God to
recall
people.

“It is indeed a sad loss, but certainly the will of God,” he
told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

For Falana (SAN), Onagoruwa was a liberal and an upright man,
who lived for justice, equity and law and order.

He said: “Dr Olu Onagoruwa was a liberal lawyer, who believed in
the bourgeois concept of the rule of law.

“When the late Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) and I were detained on
several occasions by the military government, he always challenged
our detention in court.

“His principled commitment to the defence of the rule of law
made him to clash with the legal establishment, and at the time the
system reluctantly admitted him to the inner bar, he had called it
quits with the legal practice.

“He was convinced that a fascist and corrupt system (late Gen.
Sani Abacha’s dictatorship) could be reformed from within; so, he
accepted to be Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.”

Falana commiserated with the family and pray to God to grant
them the courage to bear the loss.

Also, a veteran journalist and accomplished court reporter, Mr
Richard Akinnola, extolled the virtues of Onagoruwa, describing him
as a brilliant lawyer.

“His intellectual fecundity was not in doubt particularly on
constitutional law. For years, in conjunction with his then
struggle soul- mate, Gani Fawehinmi, he was a thorn in the flesh of
the various military governments.

“Each time Gani was incarcerated, he stood as his lawyer and
vice versa. I recall that under the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida-led
junta, it was a usual practice for him and Gani to have midnight
phone conversations. Then, there was no GSM but land phones.

“Fully aware that their phones were wire tapped and their
conversations being recorded by the security agencies, both Dr
Onagoruwa and Gani would deliberately spew forth expletives against
the government. It was their ways of getting back at the government
which had incessantly harassed them.

“But when the dark-goggled Abacha came on board as the Head of
State, he sent Dr Onagoruwa’s (Odogbolu in Ogun) kinsman, Gen.
Oladipo Diya to Onagoruwa and his mission was to appoint Onagoruwa
as the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.

“Onagoruwa informed his bossom friend Gani of this offer and
Gani sternly warned him to stay clear and reject the offer. But
Onagoruwa was inclined to accept, trying to convince his friend of
the need to use the opportunity to correct what they had been
clamouring for.

“However, the assassination of his son, who worked for the
National Intelligence Agency (NIA), a very brilliant boy with Ph.D,
Onagoruwa was totally devastated that he had stroke and he never
fully recovered till he died today,” he said in an ode.

Onagoruwa authored several books including the Nigerian Civil
War: Fundamental Human Rights and International law 1969, the
Amakiri Case; Press Freedom in crisis 1978 and Law and Contemporary
Nigeria Reflections 2004.

Onagoruwa, who attended the Academy of American and
International Law Center, USA on a full scholarship, served as a
law lecturer in various Nigerian institutions including the
Nigerian Institute of Journalism.