Akinola Aguda

Akinola Aguda (* 1923 in Akure, † 5 September 2001 ) was a Nigerian jurist and former Chief Justice ( Attorney General ) of Botswana. Before he became Chief Justice, he was a lawyer and judge in a High Court of Nigeria in the western region of Nigeria. He was the first native African, who held the position of Chief Justice in Botswana.

During his law career, he was known as a jurist and lawyer, who promoted the radicalism during the military rule in Nigeria. It is believed that this led to his exclusion from the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Life and education

Judge Aguda was born in Akure, the son of Elijah and Deborah Fasu Aguda, who were a prominent Anglican couple in Akure. He completed his primary education at St David's Primary School, Akure, and then moved to a secondary school, the Government College, Ibadan. He originally wanted to be a doctor, but chemistry, which was a crucial compartment for the existence of medical training, it was not, so he left the Medical school after the first year. He tried it as a teacher, but changed to Obafemi Awolowo Council in a legal studies. He studied law at the University of London, and graduated as a barrister from 1952.

Aguda married his first wife in 1952 and 1954 had a mistress.

Career

After graduating Aguda worked in the office of a Nigerian lawyer, Ayo Rosiji, but later moved to the Legal Department of the western region of Nigeria, where he was a budding Crown Counsel. Shortly thereafter, he was promoted to Crown Counsel. In 1955 and 1968, he became an active general solicitor of the western region of Nigeria. On February 3, 1972, he was appointed the first African Chief Justice of Botswana, at the same time he was a judge at the Court of Appeal of Swaziland, Botswana and Lesotho. After the Supreme Court to leave in 1975, he returned to Nigeria and continued his legal career as chief judge of the state of Ondo continued. In 1976, he was a leading member of the committee that recommended Abuja the capital of Nigeria. He went in 1978 as a member of the legal system in retirement and became head of the newly established Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.

As head of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Aguda took on a new role as a critic of corruption and government in Nigeria and Africa. According Aguda know ordinary Africans too little about legal standards and precedents, which leads to important human rights are being abused by the government. This situation can be promoted by poverty. Many people are being held without trial or indictment in prisons because they do not have the money for an attorney or relations, to do something about their situation. His defense of the rights of suspects was a crucial topic that stood out as a judge during his tenure. In 1968 he wrote in the case of Agbaje against the government of Western Region of Nigeria a comment that is still relevant for today's legal system in Nigeria.

"Despite the national emergency that we had in the past three years, I am of the view that in a democracy such as ours, to put it mildly, is high-handed by the police, a citizen of this country in different places for ten days in detention hold without him permission, under which he is being held to present, or at least verbally, to inform him of the privilege. "

"In a democracy like ours, even in spite of the national emergency in Which We have been for the past three years, I hold the view did it is, to say the least, high-handed for the police to hold a citizen of this country in custody in various places for over ten days without showing him the authority under Which he is being held or at least verbally Informing him of seeking authority. "

He also tried to remove the economic barriers of the criminal justice system by means of a quick trial to ask the omnipotent leader under and not above the law.