By Babajide Okeowo
Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has mourned the death of Professor Femi Odekunle who died at the COVID-19 isolation center in Gwagalada, Abuja, on Tuesday evening.
Atiku described the late Odekunle as a fine gentleman while condoling with his family and friends.
“The death of Professor Femi Odekunle is a huge loss. He was a fine gentleman with exceptional academic brilliance. I condole with his family and friends, especially the intellectual community, the government and people of Osun State” he said.
Recall that Professor Femi Odekunle who was a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), died on Tuesday of COVID 19.
PCAC is headed by Itse Sagay, a professor of law.
Odekunle, who was also Nigeria’s first professor of criminology, died at the COVID-19 isolation center in Gwagalada, Abuja, on Tuesday evening.
In July 2020, Odekunle made the headlines when he kicked against the arrest of Ibrahim Magu, former acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He had described Magu’s ordeal as a power play by blocs in the corridor of power.
Odekunle had alleged that Abubakar Malami, Minister Of Justice, is the arrowhead of the bloc that is not really interested in President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption fight.
A graduate of the University of Ibadan, 1968, he got his PhD in sociology and social psychiatry from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in the United States, in 1974.
Odekunle lectured in different universities but spent years at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna state.
The death of Professor Femi Odekunle is a huge loss. He was a fine gentleman with exceptional academic brilliance. I condole with his family and friends, especially the intellectual community, the government and people of Osun State.https://t.co/uU8Z0Lfy6s
— Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) December 30, 2020
