Alhaji Olufemi Okunnu – LLB (Lond), SAN CON

The Principal is a graduate of London University and Barrister – at – Law of the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn. He attended King’s College, Lagos (1948-1953), and University College, London University, London (1956-1959). He was called to the English Bar on 9^th February 1960 and admitted to the Nigerian Bar on 16th September 1960. He has been in practice ever since, save for the period of almost eight years when he was the Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing (May 1967 to December 1974). He resumed legal practice in January 1975, and soon thereafter in July founded the legal firm of Femi Okunnu & Co. He was in 1992 elevated to the coveted rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in recognition of his distinguished career at the Bar.

Alhaji Femi Okunnu, S.A.N., CON, was first elected to the Executive Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association in 1963 and remained a member till 1968 when he assumed public office. He also served as a member of The General Council of the Bar, 1966-1967. Alhaji Okunnu was the Editor of the Nigerian Bar Journal, an annual journal of the Bar Association between the periods 1964-1967. A prolific writer, Alhaji Femi Okunnu is the author of the following books among other publications:

1. “No Pact No Base”, a critique of the Anglo-Nigerian Defence Pact.
2. King’s College, Lagos : The Early Years, 1909 – 1959. (1984; 2016).
3. Engaging with History (2003).
4. Contemporary State Land Matters in Nigeria: The Case of Lagos State (2003),
5. The Sharia : Adultery As a Case Study (2003; 2017).
6. In The Service of the Nation – an autobiography (2010).
7. The World of Islam in Turmoil (2016).

A book, Law and Development in Nigeria, was published in 2004 in his honour. It was edited by Prof. I.O. Smith, Dean of the faculty of Law, Lagos University and contains well-informed and well-researched articles by erudite law scholars and teachers.

There are two other publications published in his honour on the occasion of his 80^th birthdays in February, 2013.

1. Torch Bearers of Islam in Lagos State.

Essays edited by Prof. Siyan Oyeweso of Lagos State University.

2. Actors and Institutions in the Development of Islam in Lagos State :

A collection of essays edited by Prof. Siyan Oyeweso and Prof. M. O. Raheemson, both of Lagos State University.

Mr. Olufemi Okunnu has appeared in several high profile cases, especially in constitutional and land laws, before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Court of Appeal, Regional and State High Courts over the years challenging abuse of power by the Federal, Regional and State Governments.