Prof Alfred Kasunmu Dies at 92

•Bayo Ojo, Ajogwu, Nwobike, Ajayi, others celebrate legal luminary’s enduring legacy

Wale Igbintade

The Nigerian legal profession has been thrown into mourning following the death of renowned legal scholar, advocate and former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State, Professor Alfred Bandele Kasunmu, SAN, who died peacefully in the early hours of Sunday, August 9, 2026. He was 92.

Kasunmu, widely regarded as one of the most distinguished figures of Nigeria’s legal profession and a towering personality of the golden era of Nigerian advocacy, was remembered yesterday by leading members of the Bar as a remarkable scholar, gentleman, mentor and statesman whose contributions profoundly shaped legal education, jurisprudence and legal practice in Nigeria.

Among those who paid glowing tributes to the late legal luminary was former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo, SAN, who described Kasunmu as a remarkable scholar and gentleman whose influence extended far beyond the classroom and courtroom.

Recalling his personal encounter with the deceased, Ojo said Kasunmu was his Dean at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) in 1974.

“He was my Dean at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lagos in 1974.”

Ojo said learning under Kasunmu left an indelible mark on his career and that of countless other lawyers who passed through his tutelage.
According to him, Kasunmu possessed a rare combination of intellectual brilliance, professional competence, humility and dignity.

Despite his formidable knowledge of the law, Ojo said, the late professor never used his intellectual superiority to intimidate others but deployed it to illuminate difficult legal questions, challenge young minds and encourage his students to think deeply and independently.

Ojo described Kasunmu as a foundational figure in the development of modern Nigerian jurisprudence, noting that his life was devoted not only to the practice of law but also to the advancement of legal knowledge and the training of successive generations of lawyers.

As Dean of the Faculty of Law, UNILAG, between 1973 and 1975, Kasunmu, Ojo noted, played a pivotal role in shaping young legal minds while maintaining high standards of academic discipline and professional excellence.

Also mourning the legal icon, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr Joseph Nwobike, SAN, said Kasunmu made invaluable contributions to legal education and practice in Nigeria.

Nwobike noted that Kasunmu was among the early Nigerian academics who ventured into legal practice, bringing to advocacy a depth of scholarship that distinguished him from his contemporaries.

“As one of the early academics who ventured into law practice, his advocacy in courts was very analytical and progressive.

Through the various cases that he handled, he helped to define the Nigerian common law,” Nwobike said.

Although he was not one of Kasunmu’s students, Nwobike said he had the privilege of studying several of the deceased’s learned works during his undergraduate and postgraduate education.

“In the courts, Prof, as we fondly called him with great respect, was brilliant and infectious in his exposition and use of the law to drive home his ideas around the issues of law in the cases that he conducted,” he said.

Nwobike described Kasunmu as “the last of the golden era of Nigerian lawyers,” adding that his death would be deeply felt by the Bar, Bench and the wider legal community.

Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Professor Fabian Ajogwu, OFR, SAN, described Kasunmu as “a great Iroko of the Inner Bar” who had taken his final bow.

In a personal tribute, Ajogwu recalled his first encounter with Kasunmu as a young lawyer in the early 1990s at the Lagos High Court.

He said he watched with admiration as Kasunmu addressed the court with remarkable refinement of language and brilliance of advocacy.

“I knew I was in the presence of greatness,” Ajogwu said, adding that Kasunmu’s name would remain synonymous with legal excellence, intellectual rigour and unimpeachable integrity.

According to him, it was only after he had the privilege of knowing Kasunmu beyond his courtroom reputation that he fully appreciated the magnitude of the man’s character and stature.

“Professor Kasunmu was a colossus in the legal profession and a luminous beacon in legal education,” Ajogwu said.

He noted that as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kasunmu wielded the law as a noble instrument of justice and social transformation through persuasion.

“In the courtroom and classroom, he commanded respect through his wisdom and the quiet dignity of his carriage,” he said.

Ajogwu described the late professor as the “gold standard” and a benchmark against which members of the legal profession could measure their aspirations and professional conduct.

“Prof was a mentor whose footsteps we sought to trace, even when we knew the path was steep and the pace formidable,” he said.

He added that Kasunmu’s dedication to the law, service to humanity and high moral standards had left an enduring imprint on the professional and personal lives of generations of lawyers.
Ajayi: ‘He was a lawyer of all seasons’

Professor Konyinsola Ajayi, SAN, also paid tribute to Kasunmu, describing him as a lawyer who successfully embodied the three principal dimensions of the legal profession — academia, public service and practice.

Reflecting on Kasunmu’s extraordinary career, Ajayi recalled a description of the late professor in his 78th year in 2012 as one of the few lawyers who had attained distinction as an academic, technocrat and practitioner.

Ajayi said Kasunmu’s career exemplified the description of a “lawyer of all seasons”, noting that he had left an enduring imprint on legal education, law and justice.

In a lecture delivered at the Professor A.B. Kasunmu Annual Lecture at the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, on July 11, 2018, titled “Conflation of Time: Analogue Practice & Digital Reality,” Ajayi described Kasunmu as a “gentle giant of the mind” whose intellectual legacy continued to inspire generations.

He said Kasunmu had succeeded in “leaving a stamp on time” through his contribution to law and justice and his role in producing some of the finest legal minds in Nigeria.

Family announces death
Kasunmu’s death was formally announced by his family, which described him as a beloved father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

“With gratitude to God for a life well spent, we announce the passing of our beloved father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Professor Alfred Bandele Kasunmu, SAN, who departed peacefully in the early hours of Sunday, 9th August 2026,” the family said.

Born on May 23, 1934, in Lagos to parents from Ilesa, Osun State, Kasunmu received his early education at Elizabeth Fowler Memorial School, Reagan Memorial Baptist School and Baptist Academy, Lagos.

He proceeded to University College London, where he obtained his Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws degrees.

He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1964 and began his academic career the same year as one of the pioneer lecturers at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University.

In 1971, he joined the University of Lagos as a senior lecturer and was subsequently elevated to the rank of Professor of Law.

He served as Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, from 1973 to 1975 before his appointment in 1975 as Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State, a position he held for three years.

His appointment as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria followed on January 25, 1978, placing him among the earliest members of the Inner Bar.

Kasunmu was also a Notary Public of Nigeria and remained active in legal scholarship and advocacy for decades.

A prolific author, he was joint author of several influential legal texts and published numerous scholarly articles covering a wide range of legal subjects.

His legal practice spanned several areas of Nigerian law.

He represented prominent expatriate and domestic clients before courts at various levels and appeared as counsel before arbitration panels in Nigeria and abroad.