Sir Olumuyiwa Jibowu, Kt (26 August 1899 – 1 June 1959) was a

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 A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

who was the first

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

to serve on the Supreme Court of Nigeria. The first African police magistrate, the first Nigerian High Court judge, a pioneer of the Nigerian Judiciary and one-time Chief Justice of the Western Region, Nigeria. Jibowu was also a judge of the

West African Court of Appeal The West African Court of Appeal (WACA) was a court which served as the appellate court for the British colonies of Gold Coast, Nigeria, Gambia, and Sierra Leone. History The WACA was first established in 1867 as the appellate court for British pos ...

Life and career

Samuel Olumuyiwa Jibowu was the first surviving male child of Samuel Alexander Adebowale Jibowu, the first person to serve as secretary of the Egba United Government, and Mary Elizabeth Jibowu (née Pearce). Through his marriage to his first wife Celia, he was a nephew-in-law to Sir

Adeyemo Alakija Oloye Sir Adeyemo Alakija, (25 May 1884 – 10 May 1952) was a Nigerian lawyer, politician and businessman. He served as a member of the Nigerian legislative council for nine years starting in 1933. In 1942, he became a member of the governor' ...

. Born on August 26, 1899, he attended Abeokuta Grammar School and taught at the school prior to attending college. In 1919, he left Nigeria for London where he attended

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England and earned a degree in Civil Law. He was called to the bar in 1923 at

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

, London. By 1931, he was a police magistrate, the first African to hold such a position during the time colonial authorities doubted the integrity of Africans. In 1942, he was appointed as a Judge of the High Court. He later became a puisne Judge at the High Court in Benin City and in 1957, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Lagos High Courts and the Southern Cameroons.Adewale Thompson. Reminiscences at the Bar, Bookcraft Publishers 1991. He was the only black magistrate in Nigeria before 1934 and was respected for his sterling principles. In March 1958, he succeeded

Adetokunbo Ademola Omoba Sir Adetokunbo Adegboyega Ademola GCON KBE PC SAN (1 February 1906 – 29 January 1993) was a Nigerian jurist who was the Chief Justice of Nigeria from 1958 to 1972. He was appointed as Chief Justice on 1 April 1958, replacing Sir Staff ...

as the Chief Justice of the Western region. Jibowu was highly regarded and among those present at his funeral service included:

James Wilson Robertson Sir James Wilson Robertson, (27 October 189923 September 1983) was a British civil servant who served as the last colonial governor-general of Nigeria from 1955 to 1960. Early life and education He was educated at Merchiston Castle School ...

Kofo Abayomi Oloye Sir Kofoworola Adekunle "Kofo" Abayomi (10 July 1896 – 1 January 1979) was a Nigerian ophthalmologist and politician. He was one of the founders of the nationalist Nigerian Youth Movement in 1934 and went on to have a distinguished public ...

, John Rankine, Samuel Akintola and a number of Supreme Court Justices.

Commission of Enquiry

In 1956, Jibowu was appointed to head an

enquiry An inquiry (also spelled as enquiry in British English) is any process that has the aim of augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a problem. A theory of inquiry is an account of the various types of inquiry and a treatment of the ...

into the management of the

Cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

Purchasing Company, a semi-governmental company formed to compete against

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

firms and to act as an agency for loan disbursement. The report of the commission detailed instances of corrupt practices by officials of the company. The company was used as a conduit of

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

benefiting allies of company officials and forKathryn Firmin-Sellers. The Transformation of Property Rights in the Gold Coast: an empirical analysis applying rational ...Cambridge University Press, 1996. p 136 . the furtherance of the political activities of its leaders.Jonathan H. Frimpong-Ansah. The Vampire State in Africa: The Political Economy of Decline in Ghana, Africa World Press, 1992. p 86. The critical report led partly to the abolishment of a loan scheme that was previously open to cocoa farmers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jibowu, Olumuyiwa Nigerian judges Yoruba legal professionals People from Abeokuta Alumni of the University of Oxford 1899 births 1959 deaths 20th-century Nigerian lawyers People from colonial Nigeria Alakija family West African Court of Appeal judges Nigerian Knights Bachelor