The late Chief Gani

FIERY advocate of the masses, Chief Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi (SAN), is dead.

He died early last Saturday morning at Lister Medical Centre in Ikeja, Lagos where he was receiving treatment for lung cancer. He was 71.

The late human rights activist and lawyer, who returned to the country recently from a London hospital where he had been battling lung cancer for the past two years, was celebrated by friends and members of his family during his 71st birthday on April 22 at his residence in Ikeja.

The late Chief Fawehinmi dominated the legal space like a colossus. Those who ignored him did so at their own peril.

He was a philanthropist who put a smile on the faces of indigent students by giving them scholarships. This year alone, as many as 40 students benefitted from his scholarship fund, with each of them receiving N100,000 to further their education.

At the time of filing this report, hundreds of mourners had besieged his Ikeja home to commiserate with his family.

The scene outside his home last Saturday

With his boundless energy, he tenaciously and uncompromisingly pursued his beliefs, principles and ideals for the untrammeled rule of law, undiluted democracy, all embracing and expansive social justice, protection of fundamental human rights and respect for the hopes and aspirations of the masses who are victims of mis-governance in our country.

As a result of his activities, Chief Fawehinmi was arrested, detained, charged and placed before the courts several times. His passport was also seized on many occasions and his residence and chambers searched several times. He was beaten up many times and was imprisoned in various parts of the country to prevent him from being listened to by the masses. His books were confiscated by the Federal Military Government, and his library in Surulere, a suburb of Lagos, was once set ablaze. Even his chambers at Anthony Village, Lagos State, was attacked and invaded by persons suspected to be agents of the government on August 26, 1994. The invaders shot his chambers guards and seriously wounded two of them.

His supporters call him “the scourge of irresponsible governments, a thermometer with which the blood pressure of dictators is gauged, the veritable conscience of the nation and the champion of the interest and causes of the masses.”

His promotion to the status of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria was delayed as a way of victimising him. Eventually, he got the award in 2003.

In 2008, Chief Fawehinmi rejected the highest order that can be bestowed on a citizen by the Nigerian government — Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) — to protest misrule since Independence.