A FORMER Justice of the Court of Appeal, Ahmad Olanrewaju Belgore, is dead.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ilorin Branch, Kwara State, Kamaldeen Gambari, broke the news of his death on Tuesday. April 9.
Gambari reportedly posted about the death on social media.
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Belgore retired from the Appeal court on April 18, 2023, after reaching 70.
He was born on April 18, 1953. He studied Law at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, from 1975 to 1978, where he obtained an LL.B (Hons.) with a Specialisation in Islamic Law.
He proceeded to the Nigerian Law School, Victoria Island, Lagos (Barrister-At-Law (BL) 1978/79 Session and was enrolled at the Supreme Court of Nigeria as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in July 1979.
According to records, the late jurist was appointed a Notary Public in 1987 and served in several positions, including Chairman of the Special Miscellaneous Offences Tribunal in Abuja and Judge of the High Court of Justice, Kwara State, from August 1990 to 2006.
In addition, he was seconded to the Republic of the Gambia’s judiciary, where he was appointed as the court’s justice of appeal. Later, he was promoted to acting justice of the Gambia Supreme Court, which he held until December 2005.
The late Belgore was sworn in as Justice of the Court of Appeal, Nigeria, on June 8, 2006, after being appointed on April 27, 2006. In 2008, he was assigned to the Court of Appeal’s Sharia Panel as Presiding Justice, and in 2015, he was again appointed to the position of Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, this time to the Ekiti Division.
Meanwhile, the Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has expressed condolences on his passing.
The governor’s chief press secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, in a statement on Wednesday, April 10, said, “The governor sends his heartfelt condolences to the entire Ilorin Emirate, the bar and the bench, and the Belgores, who have lost a rare gem.
“Justice Belgore was a legal giant and a foremost community leader who offered his shoulder for many to lean on,” the statement reads.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Kwara State Traditional Rulers Council and the Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, expressed his condolences in a separate message, describing Belgore’s passing as a significant loss for both the Ilorin Emirate and the country.
A reporter with the ICIR
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