Chief Kehinde Sofola, QC, SAN, MON, CON (10 March 1924 – 25 March 2007) 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 ...

Jurist and

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

during the

Second Nigerian Republic The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic. Background Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region en ...

Early life and career

Chief Sofola was born on March 10, 1924 as one of the second of three sets of twins 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. He was called to the English bar on September 11, 1954. He was the founder of Kehinde Sofola's Chamber a law firm in Lagos State where Ayotunde Phillips, the

Chief Judge of Lagos State The Chief Judge of Lagos State is the head of the Lagos State Judiciary, the judicial branch of the Lagos State Government and the chief judge of the High Court of Lagos State. From 1967 to 1973, the title was called Chief Justice of the Suprem ...

began her career on September 1976. He became a

Senior Advocate of Nigeria Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is a title that may be conferred on legal practitioners in Nigeria of not less than ten years' standing and who have distinguished themselves in the legal profession. It is the equivalent of the rank of Queen's Coun ...

in 1978.

Personal life

He was an elder brother to Idowu Sofola, the Chairman of the

Nigerian Body of Benchers The Nigerian Body of Benchers is a professional body concerned with the admission of successful candidates at the Nigerian Law School Bar Final Examination into the Legal Proffession. Members of the body are called ''Benchers''. The body also re ...

. His eldest son Kayode Sofola is a

and former Chairman of

United Bank for Africa United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) is a Multinational pan-African financial services group headquartered in Lagos and known as Africa’s Global Bank. It has subsidiaries in 20 African countries and offices in London, Paris and New York. In Dece ...

References

1924 births 2007 deaths People from Ogun State Lagos State judges Kehinde Sofola 20th-century Nigerian lawyers Senior Advocates of Nigeria Nigerian twins Commanders of the Order of the Niger {{Nigeria-bio-stub