On this day, September 5th in 2009, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Nigeria’s most important human rights figure passed on.

Anthony Atata has described the death of the icon 11 years ago as a loss to remember.

According to Atata, the demise of Gani Fawehinmi left a big vacuum in the legal profession and a bigger vacuum in the Nigerian society. His death left so many people vulnerable.
He redefined courage in pursuit of freedom and liberty for the common man.

According to Atata who founded Courtroom Mail in May 2009 which was the same year that Gani Fawehinmi died, “I was present at the High Court in Igbosere with other members of the Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos, when his body arrived. The number of non-lawyers was significant, the mood at the venue was that of genuine grief. I had a camera and I took some exclusive pictures of the session held in his honour. Those pictures are some of the most important pictures in our archives. We still miss him and the loss is that every lawyer should remember”.

Atata said that Gani Fawehinmi’s experience influenced many people in the choice of Law as a profession and a continued remembrance of his memory will remind us of our professional committment to human rights protection.