Dulcie Ethel Adunola Oguntoye (Dulcie Ethel King; 29 May 1923 – 12 November 2018) was an English-born Nigerian jurist who was the country's second female judge.

Early and personal life

Oguntoye was born at

Gravesend, Kent Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is t ...

in England. Serving in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force during World War II then enrolling to study law at the Middle Temple Inns of Court. She married Chief David Ojo Abiodun Oguntoye, the first Ijesha lawyer, whom she met during the War while he was also serving in the Royal Air Force, on 16 November 1946. They later moved to Ibadan. He gave her the name "Adunola". He married another five wives after her. They established a law firm, Oguntoye & Oguntoye in 1949. Her husband died in June 1997.

Career

In 1960, Oguntoye renounced her British citizenship in order to serve in the Nigerian judiciary. In 1961, she joined the Western Region Magistracy. In 1967, she became Chief Magistrate in Lagos. In February 1976, Oguntoye was appointed to the Lagos State High Court, the first woman on the Lagos State bench and the second female judge in Nigeria after

Modupe Omo-Eboh Modupe Omo-Eboh (1922 – 25 February 2002) was a Nigerian lawyer and jurist who was the country's first female judge. Early life and education Modupe Akingbehin was born in Lagos State in 1922. Her mother was a granddaughter of the Lagos aristo ...

. She was transferred to the newly created Oyo State in 1978, and retired from the bench in 1988. In 1978, she was named an Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic by Head of State Olusegun Obasanjo. She was honoured with the title of the

Iyalode The Iyalode is a high-ranking female chieftain in most of the Yoruba traditional states. The title is currently within the gift of the obas, although Njoku asserted in 2002 that the process of choosing an Iyalode in pre-colonial Nigeria was less ...

of the town of

Imesi-ile Imesi-ile is an ancient town in the northeastern part of the Obokun Local Government in Osun State, Nigeria. In the 19th century, this town was the epicenter of the Jalumi and the Kiriji wars among the Yoruba nations, and the foundation of peace ...

in the

Nigerian chieftaincy system The Nigerian Chieftaincy is the chieftaincy system that is native to Nigeria. Consisting of everything from the country's monarchs to its titled family elders, the chieftaincy as a whole is one of the oldest continuously existing institutions i ...

. Oguntoye's autobiography, ''Your Estranged Faces'', was published in 2013. In 2016, the Nigerian Legal Awards honoured her for her contribution to the country's legal profession.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oguntoye, Dulcie 1923 births 2018 deaths People from Gravesend, Kent Women's Auxiliary Air Force airwomen People who lost British citizenship Nigerian women judges Officers of the Order of the Federal Republic Members of the Middle Temple British emigrants to Nigeria English barristers 20th-century English lawyers