Retired Court Of Appeal Justice Ahmad Olanrewaju Belgore Dies At 70

The Nigerian legal community mourns the loss of retired Justice of the Court of Appeal (JCA), Ahmad Olanrewaju Belgore, who passed away on Tuesday evening. The news of his demise was announced by Kamaldeen Gambari, Esq., chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ilorin branch, Kwara State.

Justice Belgore retired from the Court of Appeal on April 18, 2023, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. Born on April 18, 1953, he obtained his LL.B (Hons.) with Specialisation in Islamic Law from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, and later attended the Nigerian Law School in Lagos. He was enrolled as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in July 1979.

Throughout his distinguished career, Justice Belgore served in various capacities, including as a Judge of the High Court of Justice, Kwara State, from 1990 to 2006, and as a Resident High Court Judge in the Offa Judicial Division of Kwara State from 1994 to 1999. He also chaired the Special Miscellaneous Offences Tribunal in Abuja.

Notably, Justice Belgore was seconded to the Judiciary of the Republic of the Gambia, where he served as Justice of Appeal in the Gambia Court of Appeal and later as acting Justice of the Supreme Court of the Gambia until December 2005.

Appointed as a Justice of the Court of Appeal, Nigeria, in 2006, he later became the Presiding Justice of the Sharia Panel of the Court of Appeal in 2008. In 2015, he was appointed as Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal and posted to the Ekiti Division.

Justice Belgore was also a member of the Body of Benchers of Nigeria from October 2015 and was appointed as a Life Bencher in February 2021.