A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Olu Onagoruwa, is dead.
The constitution expert and human rights activist reportedly died at his home in Lekki, Lagos on Friday morning.
He was 80 years old.
Onagoruwa served as attorney-general under the military government of Sani Abacha between 1993 and 1994.
He left the post due to disagreements with the then military government.
The Odogbolu, Ogun State indigene was part of those who drafted the Ethiopian constitution in 1994.
He had been suffering from stroke since the brutal killing of his son, Toyin Onagoruwa, in December 1996 by yet unknown gunmen.
The death of his wife few years ago also compounded his health problem.
Mourning the death, Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State said the demise of the former human rights activist is sad and would be deeply felt by the downtrodden and oppressed Nigerians whose cause he passionately championed.
In a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Dayo Adeneye, Amosun recalled how the commitment of the late Senior Advocate of Nigeria towards the emancipation and better welfare of ordinary citizens, made him a subject of attack by the authorities, particularly during military regimes.
“We cannot also forget his patriotism, which was in the interest of the generality of Nigerians, when as Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, during the regime of the late Gen. Sanni Abacha; he condemned and dissociated himself from some draconian decrees promulgated without his knowledge.
“This action caused him and his family great discomfort but he was uncompromising. Even when his health was failing, he continued to speak against bad governance and human rights abuses,” the governor said.
