Ogunlana, who expertly fused activism with his legal practice, led the NBA Ikeja Branch between 2016 and 2018.
Death cast a sombre shadow on the legal community and the civic space in Nigeria on Wednesday with the devastating news of the demise of one of the most resilient members of the legal profession.
Adesina Ogunlana, popularly known as Serubawon (a colloquial Yoruba word for ‘scare them’ or ‘frighten the oppressors’), has embarked on his final voyage. This time, not to the courtroom to defend helpless, voiceless and oppressed citizens, and not to demonstration grounds to protest anti-people policies by the government; but to the world beyond, to the other side of mortality.
In a similar way to bowing in the courtroom before judges as he argued on behalf of his clients, Ogunlana bowed to death just days after friends and colleagues celebrated his 60th birthday with a lecture late in July.
Known for his pro-people stance on national issues, the radical and outspoken Ogunlana prominently featured in many defining protests in Nigeria. From Occupy Nigeria in January 2012 to the 2020 #EndSARS rallies and the most recent #EndBadGovernance nationwide rallies. He was also the lawyer of #EndSARS petitioners at a panel set up to probe the incident at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos.
Ogunlana, who expertly fused activism with his legal practice, was a force in the civic space whose vacant seat would be hard to fill.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Akorede Lawal, expressed sadness over the passing of Ogunlana, who was a former chairman of the Ikeja Branch of the NBA.
Lawal said Ogunlana’s tenure as the Chairman of NBA Ikeja Branch between 2016 and 2018 witnessed “a renaissance of some sort within the Bar, as he actively led the protest against the increase in the Land Use Charge introduced by the Lagos State Government in 2018”.
“In this time, when citizens of this country look up to conscientious members of the legal profession for direction, the passage of Adesina Ogunlana is a monumental loss, as he was an activist in the exact sense of the word.
“Not one to shy away from standing firmly on the side of the people, Mr. Ogunlana actively participated in the Nationwide Hunger Protest in Lagos last week,” the NBA spokesman eulogised.
Ogunlana was “renowned for his active commitment to the rule of law, the effective administration of justice and the protection of human rights”.
Lawal said the NBA and indeed the legal profession would miss Ogunlana and offered deep condolences to the grieving family of the late activist cum lawyer.
Friends and associates of the late legal icon have splattered social media with tears of tribute and the legendary exploits of Ogunlana, whose fighting spirit has challenged many in the civic space.
