The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kayode Ariwoola; Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; Senior Advocates of Nigeria, led by Chief Folake Solanke; lawyers; Judges of various courts; as well as associates on Monday converged on the premises of the Oyo State High Court, Ring Road, Ibadan, pouring encomiums and tributes on late Justice Adegboye Ayinla Gbolagunte, who died on June 24, 2024 at 64.

Justice Gbolagunte, of the Oyo State Judiciary, is survived by his widow, Wuraola Ayoola, and three children.

The children of the late judge, who hailed from Eruwa in the Ibarapa area of Oyo State, are Oladiran, Oladoyin and Oladotun.

At the special valedictory court session presided over by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Iyabo Yerima, the CJN, who was ably represented by the presiding Judge of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, Justice Hamman Baka, extolled the virtues of the deceased, saying that he was well loved by his colleagues and associates.

He said: “How well one lives in life is what matters.

“We mourn the late Justice Gbolagunte and condole with the family left behind.

“May God repose his soul.”

Speaking through the Oyo State Attorney General and Justice Commissioner, Abiodun Aikomo, Governor Makinde described late Gbolagunte as “a man dedicated to justice in and outside the judiciary.  

“His memory will continue to be an inspiration to many of us.

“It is not the length of time, but the quality of it left behind that makes a man.

“The Oyo State Ministry of Justice and indeed Oyo State in general will miss the late jurist.”

On behalf of the Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Chief Solanke, the first female SAN in Nigeria, paid glowing tributes to late Gbolagunte, describing him as a forthright judge who was thorough and dedicated to his work till he breathed his last.

Chief Solanke was represented by Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN).

The Chairmen of the Ibadan, Oyo, Ogbomoso and Saki branches of the Nigerian Bar Association in Oyo State also gave their tributes on the well-attended solemn occasion.

Ibrahim Lawal of the Ibadan branch described Gbolagunte as “a scholar on the bench who died in active service to the state and the nation.

“He died as a jurist with character, benevolence, vision, hard work, humility, great tenacity and as a judge who accorded respect to all sundry, especially lawyers who appeared before him, while at the same time, did not take for granted the ethical principles of the legal profession to ensure its universal mobility.”

Lawal used the occasion to lament the harrowing condition in which Judges work, saying that it culminated in the ill-health of late Gbolagunte, resulting in his early death.

To him: “Oyo State Judges are being overworked and overstretched because instead of 40 that they should be, only 20 are doing the work.

“Justice Gbolagunte has gone among them, leaving the whole Judiciary to 19 Judges.

“Therefore, I call on the Oyo State government and all other authorities concerned to consider the plight of My Lords and entire lawyers by appointing more qualified Judges and Magistrates with adequate funding that creates a conducive work atmosphere and promoted speedy dispensation of justice to all manner of men, without fear or favour.”

Jide Olanipekun, Chairman of the Oyo branch, said that the late jurist was “a great person while alive and in death.

“His greatness is very visible because of his steadfastness to the course of justice in his lifetime.

“The trajectory of Justice Gbolagunte’s life showed that he was an epitome of hard work and a man that was determined to carve a niche for himself firstly, as a journalist, then a teacher, and later as a lawyer and Judge of the Oyo State High Court of Justice.”

Adesoji Oke of the Saki branch and Omotayo Olatubosun of the Ogbomoso branch equally poured accolades on the late Judge, describing him as a diligent Judge who was used to sitting at exactly 9am to attend to lawyers, contrary to the practice of some who keep lawyers sitting till 11am or thereabout before sitting, or before asking lawyers to take dates because they would no longer sit for the day.

The first son of Justice Gbolagunte, Oladiran, on behalf of the family, appreciated everybody for the honour done to their father, praying that such occurrence does not occur again in the Oyo State Judiciary.

President Bola Tinubu has signed into law the bill seeking to reintroduce the old national anthem. Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced this at the joint sitting of the senate and house of representatives on Wednesday, May 29.

Akpabio said the president signed the bill into law on Wednesday morning.

The bill received accelerated hearing in both chambers of the National Assembly.

Lillian Jean Williams, a British expatriate who lived in Nigeria during its independence, penned the lyrics for “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” while Frances Berda composed the music.
The anthem was however dropped in 1978 during Obasanjo’s military administration.

See the lyrics of the anthem below

Nigeria, we hail thee,

Our own dear native land,

Though tribe and tongue may differ,

In brotherhood, we stand,

Nigerians all, and proud to serve

Our sovereign Motherland.

Our flag shall be a symbol

That truth and justice reign,

In peace or battle honour’d,

And this we count as gain,

To hand on to our children

A banner without stain.

O God of all creation,

Grant this our one request,

Help us to build a nation

Where no man is oppressed,

And so with peace and plenty

Nigeria may be blessed.

We supposed the new generation has to go and start learning the old national anthem now.

Ben Affleck believes he was “temporarily insane” when he married Jennifer Lopez and the star actor is reportedly pushing for a divorce after “coming to his senses”.

The pair tied the knot in August 2022, rekindling their romance 20 years after they called off their first engagement.

Less than 2 years later, Ben has allegedly labelled their relationship a “fever dream”.

Page Six reports the actor is keen to end their marriage, claiming the decision to wed was due to “temporary insanity”.

A source told the publication: “If there was a way to divorce on grounds of temporary insanity, he would.”

They added: “He feels like the last two years was just a fever dream, and he’s come to his senses now and understands there is just no way this is going to work.”

People also reported Ben and Jennifer have “very different approaches to fame” leading to clashes.

Although they recently attended Ben’s child Finn’s school production together, the couple are reportedly living separately despite buying a £47million ($60million) mansion together last year.

Divorce rumours were further fuelled when fans noticed that J.Lo liked an Instagram post about “broken relationships”.