Justice Ayoola transited on 20th August 2024. In 1976, he was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Western State of Nigeria and soon after a Judge of the old Oyo State comprising of the present Oyo and Osun States.
This was at a time when appointment and elevation to the High Court bench was largely by invitation. Chief Judges and Senior Judges including Justices of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court taped resources from outstanding lawyers who regularly appeared before their Courts and due recommendations were made.
The recruitment process was rigid with an emphasis on learning and character. Justice Ayoola fitted the bill and was an outstanding selection to the Bench in 1976. During his years as a serving Judge of the High Court, he had as colleagues formidable Judges such as Justice E.O. Fakayode (as Chief Judge, Justice Eso having been elevated to the Supreme Court), Justice S.O Agbaje-Williams, (also later Chief Judge) A.O. Apara (later Chief Judge of Osun State), B.O Babalakin, Y.O Adio (both of whom later became Supreme Court Justices), D.E.A Oguntoye, A.A Sijuwade, J.D. Ogundare, A.O. Ige (later Justices of the Court of Appeal), and T.A.A. Ayorinde (my late father who later became Chief Judge of Oyo State).
This set of Jurists laid a solid foundation for the Judiciary in the old and new Oyo State and later generations, who have carried on with this enviable Legacy on the High Court of Bench of Oyo State.
Theirs was indeed a golden era of the Bench particularly in the old Oyo State. The Young Yinka Ayoola was called to the English Bar at the Lincoln’s Inn in 1957 after he obtained his Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of London and a B.A in Jurisprudence from Oxford University. In
1959, he was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court and he was engaged in active Legal Practice in Ibadan for 17 years. During this period he was a founding Editor of the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports [NMLR]. The other Editors included eminent jurists such as Late Justice Akinola Aguda (1923-2001), the first indigenous African to be appointed Chief Justice of Botswana, and the Late Justice Olufemi Ayoola. Olufemi Ayoola was a High Court Judge between 1967 and 1975 and was in a successful Law Partnership with Yinka Ayoola (his brother). Other Founding Editors of the Reports include Chief Folake Solanke SAN, Nigeria’s first female lawyer to take silk and who remains today one of the inspirational figures in the profession, Late Justice Omotayo Onalaja a former Judge of the High Court of Lagos and Justice of the Court of Appeal and Late Mrs Olabisi Ayoola were also part of this illustrious group of eminent scholars. Amongst this group was also one of Nigeria’s most illustrious and cerebral lawyers in the person of Chief Richard Akinjide SAN, CON, FCI ARB UK. He was admitted to the English Bar at the Inner Temple in February 1956 and called to the Nigerian Bar in March 1956. He took silk in 1978 and he was a practicing member of the English and Gambian Bars. He was President of the Nigerian Bar Association 1970 – 1973. Past Chairman and life member of the Body of Benchers, Federal Minister of Education 1964 -1965, and Attorney General and Minister for Justice 1979 -1983.
Such was the caliber of the founding editors of the NMLR and this made the quality of the reports comparable to the All England Law Reports and indeed any law Report of International Standard.
Justice Yinka Ayoola served as a Justice of the Court of Appeal of the Gambia (1980-1983) and was Chief Justice of the Gambia (1983-1992). He was Vice President of the World Judges Association in 1991. He was President of the Court of Appeals of Seychelles, and Justice of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria (1992–1998), Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria (1998–2003), retiring in October 2003 at the mandatory age of 70. His Colleagues at the apex Court then included; The Hon. Justice Lawal Uwais who remains the Longest serving Justice of the Supreme Court and later Chief Justice of Nigeria, others were Justice Alfa Belgore, Justice Kutigi, and Justice kastina Alu (who all served as Chief Justices of Nigeria at different times). On that bench was also Justice Akintola Olufemi Ejiwunmi who was a formidable Director of Public Prosecution in Lagos State before his elevation to the High Court and later Court of Appeal and finally to the Supreme Court.
Justice Ayoola had an impeccable record of Public Service. Following his retirement from the Supreme Court of Nigeria, he served as the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria (2003–2005). The Secretary-General of the United Nations appointed Justice Ayoola as President of The Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (2004–2005), set up to try those responsible for the Sierra Leone Civil War. He has edited the Seychelles Law Digest, the Law Reports of the Gambia, and the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports as stated earlier.
In 2005 Justice Ayoola was appointed Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), replacing a former President of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria, Justice Mustapha Akanbi who had voluntarily and honourarily retired from the position.
As Chairman of the ICPC, he leveraged his good standing within the legal circles to invite senior and experienced private lawyers to advise and prosecute cases on behalf of the ICPC. In fact he convinced many of us to take up these tasks having made it clear to us that the remuneration was not significant but that it was a matter of service to the nation. He succeeded greatly in doing this.
I knew Justice Ayoola from my very early years. He was gentle, soft-spoken, and had kind words for all who met him. He was firm on the bench and his Judgments established Precedents that are still applied in Nigerian Courts and Overseas Jurisdictions.
After he bowed out of Public Service, he was constantly sought after by disputants and parties in Local and International Arbitrations, to present opinions on several aspects of Nigerian law, especially on complex commercial disputes.
He had a commonsensical approach to issues arising for determination. His language was simple and not verbose. He made his judgments understandable to Lawyers and non-lawyers alike. His Landmark Judgement in COMPTOIR COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIES S.P.R.LTD V OGUN STATE WATER CORP & ANOTHER (2002) further established the sacrosanct nature of Arbitral awards and why the courts should not lightly set aside such Awards.
In the case of WEST AFRICAN BREWRIES LTD. V. SAVANNAH VENTURES (2002), he reiterated that a Mortgagee or Receiver had a duty to act in good faith and that “lack of good faith covers a multitude of conducts having dishonesty or reprehensibility as common elements. In other words, it is difficult to define exhaustively all that would be included in the words “good faith”. It would however be unreasonable to require the mortgagee to do more than exercise his power of sale in that fashion. But if the mortgagee willfully deals with the property in such a manner that the interests of the mortgagor are sacrificed, he had not been exercising his power of sale in good faith”. The above decisions have been followed as precedents in several cases. Other notable cases where Justice Ayoola handed down significant Judgments include the case of AWOLAJA V SEATRADE GRONINGEN (2002) on Charter Parties and SHELL PETROLEUM V NWAKA(2003) on the principles of Foss v Harbottle.
At the Court of Appeal in the case of INTERMARKET V ADEROUNMU (1998), I was privileged to appear before a distinguished panel of that court composed of Justice Ayoola (who presided and read the lead Judgment), Justice Pats-Acholonu and Justice Opene. It was a commercial dispute where the powers of the Federal High Court to consolidate cases before that court were in issue. While re-affirming the power of the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to consolidate 2 cases before 2 different Judges if the circumstances permit, Justice Ayoola however set aside the orders made following the consolidation.
The Chief Judge had nullified earlier orders made by the 2 courts and subsequently, he appointed an Interim Committee to administer the company that the parties sought to exercise control over. Justice Ayoola held that “On the meaning of the phrase “directions as may be necessary with respect to the hearing of the causes or matters so consolidated means such directions as are necessary having regard to the altered circumstances in relation to the hearing that may have been brought about by the consolidation. Such as determining which of the parties will be Plaintiff or Defendant, or how the claims will be harmonized, or the need for fresh pleadings.
Justice Ayoola served meritoriously in judicial capacities outside the shores of Nigeria. He creditably represented Nigeria and was part of the foundation of Nigeria’s’ Judicial Exports, especially to the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and Municipal Courts in other Commonwealth and African Nations. In this Company were eminent Jurists like Hon. Justice Akinola Aguda (earlier mentioned). Others include Taslim Olawale Elias who served as Attorney General and Chief Justice of Nigeria, Judge and President of the International Court of Justice. Amongst his Children is the brilliant Professor Gbolahan Elias SAN whom we both attained silks in 2005. Other Jurists in this category were Sir Louis Mbanefo, Prince Bola Adesumbo Ajibola (SAN) (also a former Attorney General of Nigeria and Father of Prince Adesegun Ajibola SAN), Judge Charles D. Onyeame and Justice Adetokunbo Ademola who was Chief Justice of Nigeria between 1958 and 1972. Recently Justice Chile Eboe-Osuji also served as a member of the International Criminal Court between 11th March 2012 and 10th March 2021 and as President of the Court between 2018 and 2021.
He is a member of the Centurial Set of the Nigerian Law School the 1986 “call set” of which I am privileged to be a member refer to themselves. Other Jurists who have recently followed the footprints of Justice Ayoola in service overseas include Justices Habeeb Abiru, Anomaye Agim, Abubakar Dalti Yahaya, Abubakar Tijani, and Obande Festus Ogbuinya (all now of the Supreme Court of Nigeria)
Foreign Law Reports and Journals are replete with the decisions of Justice Yinka Ayoola and his contributions to the jurisprudence in the jurisdictions where he served are well appreciated. An example can be found in the case of GONSALVES MORIN V INDIAN OCEAN EXPORT CO (pty) LTD delivered in 1998 at the Seychelles Court of Appeal. Here, Justice Ayoola laid down very explicit circumstances where a Court will hold that a document constituted an admission. Other cases of note include XAVIER BRUTUS V MARCEL BELLE (Seychelles Court of Appeal), MANJANG V GAMBIA NATIONAL INSURANCE CORPORATION (Supreme Court (High Court) Banjul, Gambia), and KHADARA V INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (Supreme Court (High Court) Banjul, Gambia.
Indeed, the Ayoola Family has lost a Patriarch, a Father, and a Grandfather, the Legal Profession has lost a towering figure and a colossus who greatly succeeded as a Lawyer and International jurist and finally Nigeria has lost a patriot.
Rest in Peace, Honourable Justice Emmanuel Olayinka Ayoola.
CHIEF BOLAJI AYORINDE SAN, FCArb, OFR, LLD Honoris Causa
FORMER CHAIRMAN, LEGAL AID COUNCIL OF NIGERIA
FORMER PRO-CHANCELLOR AND CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL, LADOKE AKINTOLA UNIVERSITY