Bamidele Aturu: Unforgettable By Adegboruwa

We proceeded straight to the Chambers of Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, to inform him. Gani stormed the Law School with the judgment of the Ile-Ife High Court and he sat there and insisted that we be registered. And it was so. Due mainly to my experience of having to join my classmates at the 2nd semester of my final year in the university, I had overworked myself to be able to graduate from the university so I had discussed and agreed with my family to secure accommodation at the Law School hostel, to enable me focus on academic activities. Eventually, I shared the same room with Bamidele Aturu (BF), for the one year period. It was very memorable for us, especially during the weekends, when most other students would have travelled. Then one day he jolted me when he disclosed that he wasn’t going to observe his pupilage at Gani Fawehinmi Chambers. His reasoning was that he wouldn’t want his closeness to Gani to affect the strict rules that the latter was reputed for, in running his Chambers. So BF said he would go to Professor Itse Sagay whilst I go to Gani. And he followed this up with a discussion with Gani. Subsequently, BF had cause to set up his own Chambers before me and so I ran to him in year 2000 when I wanted to set up Adegboruwa & Co. He just collected my details and called Henry, his litigation officer, to go to CAC and perfect the registration. The only thing I heard thereafter was to collect my chamber’s certificate. Then after sometime I ran back to him again. Life was tough, the clients weren’t coming, and I had bills to pay. Besides, I wanted to marry. Then BF mentioned to me how he had partnered with God to sustain his chambers and he then invited me to Rccg camp for the monthly Holy Ghost Service. This was in July 2000. I followed BF and Bimpe and that trip changed my life for good. Then in February 2015, I had was arrested by the EFCC and asked to make a statement on a settlement transaction that I conducted on behalf of a client. I declined to write as demanded by the operatives beyond the roles I personally played as mediator. So a detention order was signed for to me to be detained on that account. My wife called BF and so many of my friends and colleagues. In the meantime, I’d been transferred to the detention cell at Okotie-Eboh Street. Unknown to me however, BF was very sick but he insisted that Bimpe should drive him to EFCC office, to meet with the man in charge. BF remained there till late in the day and offered to be surety for my bail. Meanwhile, I had already settled down in my cell and even attended fellowship in the cell earlier. Suddenly there was some rush in the cell and my name was mentioned to proceed to the counter. I was told to sign off for my belongings to be released. BF had secured my release around 11pm and waited to see me leave the cell. It was later on whilst chatting on phone that he mentioned to me that he wasn’t feeling too well. He didn’t give me the details really but we prayed together and arranged to meet thereafter. Time passed and things normalized. It was suddenly in the morning of July 9 of the same year that Bimpe called me that BF was in the hospital. I rushed to the hospital but he had gone. We just decided that he wouldn’t go. We prayed and prayed. My phone was ringing repeatedly but how do I confirm to all our friends and colleagues that BF was more? We prayed till about 6pm and it was only after we got back from the Rccg camp with his body that I called Bimpe to appeal to her to accept the will of God for BF and arrange for his body to be kept in the morgue. The best part of me was gone, and I had to confirm it to all our friends, comrades and colleagues. Before long, the hospital was filled with people, from all over the place: family members, lawyers, activists and his numerous clients. BF had gone. Please rest in the bosom of our Lord, my dearest friend and comrade. Bimpe, please carry on the good works. By A Lagos based Legal Practitioner and ….human rights defender, Ebun-olu Adegboruwa, Esq]]>