Biography

Mr. Kehinde Sofola SAN, CON was born in Ikenne- Remo, Ogun State on the 10th of March 1924. He was of the second of three sets of twins delivered by his late mother, late Chief Salamotu Adefowora Efunwiyan Sofola, the ‘Iya Suna’ of Ikenne muslims. His father was the late Chief Sanni Sofola Odulana, Seriki of Ikenne Muslims, one of the first indigenes to accept Islam in Ikenne.

He attended C.M.S School Sagamu from 1938 to 1939 and went on to Baptist Boys’ High School, Abeokuta in 1940 to complete his secondary education. Between 1944 and 1945, he sat for and passed with flying colours the London Matriculation Examination, whilst working at the Nigerian Railway Corporation as a clerk. He worked until 1951 when he left for further studies in England.

On arrival in England, he enrolled at Lincoln’s Inn for the Bar Examination and passed the Bar Finals in December 1953. He was called to the English Bar on the 9th of February 1954 on the same day as the Late Honourable Justice Okpan Kalu Anya (J.C.A) and the Late Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, the former British Prime Minister. He returned to Nigeria thereafter and was enrolled as a legal practitioner on the 11th of September 1954 at the Supreme Court of Nigeria with NBA no. 430.

He achieved distinction at the bar and was conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria on the 1st of December 1978 with 12 others that included the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo SAN. In 1983, he was nominated and appointed to the highly coveted position of Attorney General and Minister for Justice of the Federation.

Mr. Sofola held many important national, international and professional appointments such as the Director of Nigeria Airways (1963-1965); Director, Board of Customs and Excise (1965-1966); Vice-Chairman, Bank of India (Nig.) Ltd, later known as Allied Bank of Nigeria Plc, (1975-1977); and Member, Panel of Arbitrators, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. Other appointments include membership of the Federal Judicial Service Commission representing the Bar (1980 – 1983); Member, National Judicial Council (2001 – 2004). Mr. Sofola was a life member and former Chairman of the Body of Benchers, the apex authority in the legal profession. He was the legal advisor to several companies and organisations.

In 2002, the Federal government of Nigeria, in recognition of his contribution to national development conferred upon him the national merit award of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).

Mr Kehinde Sofola SAN, CON celebrated a legal career spanning over five decades before he passed on in 2007. He was an intellectual giant in legal practice, an extraordinary solicitor, a distinguished barrister, a lover of the law, a friend of the Court, and a champion of the underdog.

Mr. Kehinde Sofola SAN, CON made his mark on the legal annals of Nigeria in over 500 notable judicial cases. His cases contributed to shaping our law of evidence and civil procedure. For example, around issues relating to the construction of wills in Adebajo v. Adebajo & Ors (1975) NSCC 204; Jadesimi v. Okotie - Eboh (1996) 2 NWLR (Pt.429) 128 and the resolution of the contentious case on locus standi at the Supreme Court in the case of Owodunni v. Registered Trustees of Celestial Church of Christ (2000) 6 SCNJ 404 where his wealth of experience and deep grasp of the law manifested with the novel argument that resolved the legal issues at stake. In the Owodunni case, the Supreme Court upheld the submission of Kehinde Sofola, Esq., that the issue of locus standi is to be ascertained from examining the pleadings, to see whether it discloses sufficient interest, in order to determine if the plaintiff has locus standi; and not just from the relief sought by the plaintiff. This threw much needed light into the issue of locus standi as applied to Nigerian courts.

In the area of criminal law, he successfully defended many unjustifiably accused persons charged with politically motivated prosecutions. He was lead counsel in the defence of the President of Nigeria, Alhaji Shehu Shagari and his Vice-President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme in the tribunal set up after the December 1983 military coup.

The impact of his cases also went beyond legal practice and helped formulate law. It must be recalled that the minimum wage for Civil Servants in Nigeria, came on the heels of the action instituted by Mr Kehinde Sofola at the Nigerian Industrial court on behalf of the Nigerian Civil Service Union.