Legal Stakeholders Shower Late Odubela Glowing Tributes
Legal Stakeholders ranging from Judges, Benchers, Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, members of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, honoured and paid glowing tributes to the late John Olusegun Odubela (SAN) who died nine days ago in Lagos.
The occasion was at a valedictory session held in his honour by the Lagos State Judiciary at Ikea High Court complex.
The Chief Judge, Justice Kazeem Alogba described the late Isabel’s as a person who left his sign in the sand of time.
Justice Alogba who was represented by Admin Judge, Lagos, Justice Taofikat Oyekan-Abdullai said of Odubela: “He was a person who knows where he was coming from and where he was going.
“He sets a target for himself on what he wanted to become in life and this served as a guide for his achievements in life.”
He recalled that Odubela was a commercial ‘danfo’ driver before he went to study law and became a lawyer and rose to become a SAN.
Lagos Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo(SAN) represented by the Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary, Ms Titilayo Shitta-Bey, said, “Odubela was very courteous, dependable, selfless and an experienced litigator.”
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He recalled his birthday, two years ago during which he said the deceased went out of his way to make the day a special one.
“We happened to have attended the International Bar Conference in Seoul, and unknown to me, he had organized a dinner to commemorate the day. That was Odubela, he was kind hearted and had a personal touch with people he interacted with.
He said his last encounter with Odubela was about four weeks ago when the deceased forwarded a message to commiserate with the State following the EndSARs protest.
Former Chief Judge of Federal High Court, Justice Mustapha Abdullahi said he was still in shock over the death of Odubela.
Justice Abdullahi described the deceased as a hard working and disciplined legal practitioner and a patriotic Nigerian.
He said his demise was a big loss to the legal profession.
“He put his all in all cases he handled and believed no man should suffer injustice.
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“John Odubela may be dead but he will continue to live in all those who came in contact with him”, he said.
He said his partner, Rickey Tara (SAN) is still in a state of shock over his death and couldn’t make it to the valedictory session due to medical challenges.
The Body of Benches represented by Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) described the deceased as a friend.
“He realised his ambition and reached the zenith of his profession within the time he set for himself. ”
The Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) represented by F. O. Akinrele (SAN) said the deceased impacted positively in the life of all those he touched particularly those in the legal profession.
Chairman NBA, Epe, Ikeja, Lagos, Ikorodu and Badagry in their various tributes described the deceased as a mentor to many young lawyers.
