WITH the death of Chief Godwin Olusegun Kolawole Ajayi (SAN) (popularly known and called ‘GOK’), the Nigerian legal profession has again lost one of its greatest and most brilliant minds. GOK was a complete gentleman per excellence both at the Bar and on the social contact level. At the Bar he was soft spoken, extremely thorough with every minute detail in the presentation of his cases in the courts.
My first contact with GOK was in April 1964 when I was admitted for the compulsory three month course at the Nigerian Law School in Igbosere Street, Lagos where he was one of the practising legal practitioners who taught on part time basis in the school. I still remember vividly that many of us in that April to July 1964 set used to discuss the thoroughness with which GOK presented his lectures to us. After my three month Law School course, I was employed as a Pupil State Counsel in the Federal Ministry of Justice in Lagos. My career in that Ministry which spanned over a decade and continued until my elevation to the Bench in 1978, gave me ample opportunities of seeing GOK at close quarters in the courts. I prosecuted many cases both civil and criminal in which he appeared for the defense. Similarly, he appeared before me in many cases during my about three decades on the Bench.
The Federal Ministry of Justice was, in our time, in charge of all legal matters of the Federal Government. To that end, Legal Advisers and other Law Officers in the Ministries were staff of the Federal Ministry of Justice on postings to the various posts outside the Ministry of Justice. Dr. Taslim Elias was the Attorney General. There were a number of departments in the Ministry; notable among were the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Civil Litigation Department, International Law Department and the Administrator General Department. I had the privilege of serving in all the Departments within the Ministry except the Administrator General Department. I also served on postings outside the Ministry in the Kano sub office; as Registrar of Companies then in Federal Ministry of Trade; as Legal Adviser in the Department of Custom and Excise and as Legal Adviser in the Federal Inland Revenue Department.
The DPP was then headed Mr. Duro Adebiyi, a very brilliant lawyer and an excellent leader of men, who later became a Judge. Mr. Miller, from West Indies and a Colonial Civil Servant, was the Deputy DPP. He did not stay long with us. He was succeeded by Mr. Candide Johnson, who had moved on transfer from Western Region Public Service, Ibadan. He later became Chief Judge of Lagos State. This was the transition period from the Colonial Public Service. Most of the Nigerian heads of Ministries and Departments then took over from the Colonial Civil Servants who were then being withdrawn after our Independence. There was then strict discipline and dedication to duties in the public service. The DPP Department, and other Departments in the Federal Ministry of Justice, handled all Federal Government court cases, both civil and criminal prosecutions in all the hierarchy of courts. Farming out criminal or civil cases to private legal practitioners for prosecution did not exist. The instances where private legal practitioners were briefed were to defend convicts for capital offences when their cases were on appeal. Such facility was restricted to convicts who had no means to brief capable Counsel.
The procedure adopted in handling cases in every Department in the Ministry then was to discuss all aspects of every case and thereafter assign an officer with or without juniors to go and prosecute the case according to the guideline as agreed during the conference on the case. The assigned Counsel would disclose the name or names of the defense Counsel after the first hearing of the case. We used to categorise the defense counsel into grades. Among the top grade were Chief F.R.A.Williams; Chief G.O.K Ajayi; Mr. Kehinde Sofola, and Chief R.O.A. Akinjide. Whenever any of these great men of the legal profession was for defense, whoever was handling the case would report the matter to the head of the Department who would again summon counsel in the section to a meeting to have a thorough look at the case and see if there was any need to strengthen the team that was originally assigned. I remember an incident where a colleague, late Prince Gbadebo Laoye, was assigned to prosecute a criminal case of which Chief Williams was defending. After he called the first witness, the defense was called upon to cross examine the witness. Chief Williams replied that he had no question for the witness. The second was called and Chief Williams also said he had no question for the witness. Prince Laoye immediately asked for an adjournment till the next day which was granted. He rushed back to the Ministry to report to the DPP what he experienced in court. The DPP immediately called us to an emergency meeting to have a second look at the charge and the proof of evidence in support. This was done and we agreed that there was no defect found. At the resumed hearing on the following day, the Deputy DPP, Mr. Candide Johnson, decided to join Prince Laoye and he took me along. We just sat at the Bar while Prince Laoye continued with the case and at the end of the trial the accused was convicted as charged. The practice then was that Counsel defending would not raise any objection to a defective charge or moved the court to quash a charge when the prosecution had not called any witness and insist on a ruling on such objection upon which interlocutory appeals would be based and the court would be urged to grant a stay of proceeding pending the determination of the interlocutory appeal as is the common practice nowadays, particularly in cases involving wealthy or influential people. The practice then was to allow the prosecution to lead the evidence it has and close its case. The defense could then make a no case submission the ruling at that stage could end the trial.
Criminal cases were in those days disposed off speedily during every quarterly assize session. The question of asking for an adjournment for a period outside the life of an assize session did not arise. Assize sessions were held regularly in those days. There were four assize sessions in a year. The practice then was to assign one of us as prosecuting Counsel in every Assize Session. I was assigned as Counsel to perform that duty on a number of occasions. No senior Counsel or any Counsel for that matter would embark on any delaying tactics in the speedy completion of any case as we see nowadays. Assize sessions continued in my days as a trial Judge and I presided over some of them before I left for the Appellate Courts. But to my surprise, assize sessions are not held nowadays hence we now have congestions in every court in the country.
With the death of Chief G.O.K. Ajayi, Chief R.O.A. Akinjide is perhaps the last of the titans. Lest I forget, there was a relatively younger man whom we highly respected as defense Counsel. He was one Akande. We nicknamed him “Akande Olori Nla” (Akande with Big Head). He was about our age group. Any time Akande Olori Nla was in any case, be it civil or criminal matter, we used to ensure that every aspect of the case was thoroughly checked because he was just a very brilliant young man who could at any time spring surprises. The man died not long after I left the Ministry in 1978 on my appointment as a High Court Judge.
Chief G.O.K. Ajayi was for the defense in many cases in which I conducted for the State both civil and criminal. As I said earlier above, he showed the same exceptional brilliance for which he was well known. He also conducted a number of cases before me while I was on the Bench. I remember an important election petition case he conducted before a five man panel of Judges of which I was a member. It was the election petition involving Chief Ajasin v. Omoboriowo. The trial was at Akure High Court. As usual, GOK displayed his well-known exceptional brilliance in the way he presented his case before us at the trial. It was on record that our judgment in the case was the only one in the series of election petition appeals that was upheld by the two appellate courts.
Chief GOK was also a devoted Christian of Anglican Communion. He was a former Registrar of the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion. He will be sorely missed by the legal profession, the immediate family, the Church of Nigeria and all of us who knew and admired him immensely. Our prayer is that God Almighty will comfort all his immediate family and grant his soul a peaceful rest.
Justice Akintan, CON is a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and former Legal Adviser in the Federal Ministry of Justice.
