Chief Godwin Olusegun Kolawole Ajayi, SAN (29 May 1931 – 31 March 2014) popularly known by his initials GOK Ajayi, was a prominent

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

lawyer.

Early life

Ajayi was born on 29 May, 1931, at Ijebu Ode, a city in

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to th ...

southwestern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He had his elementary education at Ijebu Ode Nursery School and St Saviours' School in Lagos state before he attended CMS Grammar School where he obtained the Cambridge School Certificate in 1948. He went to the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

where he received a bachelor's degree in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Law career

Ajayi was called to the

English bar Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecutio ...

in 1955 and the Nigerian bar in 1957. He was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 1978, along with Chief Kehinde Sofola, Remi Fani-Kayode and

Obafemi Awolowo Chief Obafemi Jeremiah Oyeniyi Awolowo (; 6 March 1909 – 9 May 1987) was a Yoruba nationalist and Nigerian statesman who played a key role in Nigeria's independence movement (1957-1960). Awolowo founded the Yoruba nationalist group Egbe O ...

, the national leader of the defunct

Unity Party of Nigeria The Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) was a Nigerian political party that was dominant in western Nigeria during the second republic (1978-1983). The party revolved around the political leadership of Obafemi Awolowo, a sometimes polemical politician ...

. He was the lawyer of the now-defunct

and Awolowo's solicitor in the Awolowo v. Shagari case on September 26, 1979, in which Chief Obafemi Awolowo's petition challenged the declaration of

Shehu Shagari Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (25 February 1925 – 28 December 2018), titled Turakin Sokoto from 1962, was the first democratically elected President of Nigeria, after the transfer of power by military head of state General Olusegun Obasanjo in ...

as the winner of the August 11, 1979, presidential election. The late Justice

Kayode Eso Chief Samuel Obakayode "Kayode" Eso, CON, CFR (born 18 September 1925 – 16 November 2012) was a prominent Nigerian jurist. He served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Early life Samuel Obakayode Eso was born on 18 September 19 ...

, presided over the case. He was

Moshood Abiola Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola , also known as M. K. O. Abiola (24 August 1937 – 7 July 1998) was a Nigerian businessman, publisher, and politician. He was the Aare Ona Kankafo XIV of Yorubaland and an aristocrat of the Egba clan. M.K. ...

's solicitor in the case of annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election. Ajayi died on March 31, 2013, in the intensive care unit of Reddington Hospital in Lagos State. His nephews include the actor O. T. Fagbenle, the film producer

Luti Fagbenle Luti Fagbenle (Oladoke Lutiseku Mobolaji Fagbenle) is a British actor, film producer and entrepreneur. Career In 2006 Luti founded the production company Luti Media. The company has produced hundreds of music videos, commercials and films. ...

and the music video producer Oladapo Fagbenle. A niece is the basketball player Temi Fagbenle."Celebrated Columnist, Tunde Fagbenle loses son"
''PM News'', 22 May 2018

"Celebrated Columnist, Tunde Fagbenle loses son"
WNBA

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ajayi, GOK 1931 births 2014 deaths People from Ogun State Nigerian jurists Yoruba legal professionals Alumni of the London School of Economics CMS Grammar School, Lagos alumni 20th-century Nigerian lawyers