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Kayode Oladele

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Kayode Oladele
Member of the House of Representatives of Nigeria
In office
8 June 2015 – June 2019
ConstituencyYewa North/Imeko-Afon Federal Constituency, Ogun State, Nigeria
Personal details
Born (1963-06-08) 8 June 1963 (age 61)
Nigeria
Citizenship Nigeria
Political partyAll Progressives Congress (APC)
Residence(s)Abuja, FCT, Nigeria
Alma materUniversity of Lagos, Nigeria
OccupationLawyer, politician

Kayode Oladele (born 8 June 1963) is a Nigerian human rights activist, lawyer and politician who was a member of the Nigerian House of Representatives representing Yewa North/Imeko-Afon Federal Constituency, Ogun State, from 2015–2019. He was the Chairman of the House of Representatives' Committee on Financial Crimes and member of the House Committees on Justice, Human Rights, Rules and Business, Environment, Healthcare Services and Agricultural Institutions.[1][2] He was elected under the platform of the All Progressives Congress on 11 April 2015.[3] Prior to that, he was Chief of Staff, office of the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes.[4]

Oladele served as legal adviser to the governor of Ogun State and member of the State Executive Council from 2008 to 2011.[5] On 20 February 2021, he was appointed by the Governor of Ogun State, Nigeria, Dapo Abiodun as the Chairman of a 20-member Peace-Building Committee. The Committee was inaugurated by the state government to determine the root cause of the incessant deadly clashes between the farmers and herders in Ogun West Senatorial District of the State, proffer lasting solutions and ensure that peace and harmony continue to reign in the area and the State.[6]

Early life and education

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Oladele was born on 8 June 1963 in Nigeria. He is a mixed descent of Yewa and Awori subgroups of the Yoruba  people found in the western axis of Ogun State and Lagos State.[7] He is also a descendant of Oniji dynasty of Aafin ruling house, one of the two ruling houses in line of succession to the throne of the ancient kingdom of Onimeko of Imeko in Imeko, Ogun State, Nigeria. His great grandfather held the hereditary noble title of Ara Baba Oba of Imeko and member of the traditional kingmakers council who select the  king or Oba of Imeko, the Onimeko of Imeko.[8] He attended Baptist High School, Ilaro, Ogun State, where he obtained the West African School Certificate in 1981.[9] He proceeded to Oyo State College of Arts and Science, Ile-Ife and obtained a Higher School Certificate/General Certificate of Education ( Advanced Level) in 1984. He then attended the University of Lagos, Nigeria, from where he received his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B Hon.) Degree in 1987. He proceeded to the Nigerian Law School, Victoria Island, Lagos and was called to the Bar as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1988. He later earned a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree from Wayne State University Law School, Detroit, Michigan, USA in 2000.[9] He was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan as an attorney and counselor the same year and rolls of the Supreme Court of the United States Bar in December 2004. He is an Executive Education alumnus of Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.[10]

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Oladele worked for several years as an associate partner in the law offices of the Detroit, Michigan  based, Benjamin Whitfield Jr. & Associates PC.[11]

Oladele represented the plaintiffs in an international human rights violation case brought by a group of Nigerians including the mover of Nigeria's independence motion in 1956, Anthony Enahoro[12] and Hafsat Abiola-Costello,[13] daughter of the presumed winner of Nigeria's 1993 Presidential election, M.K.O. Abiola against a former military ruler in Nigeria, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar[14][15] before a United States' Federal Court in Chicago, Illinois. The protracted human rights abuse and extra-judicial killing  litigation  which went up to the US Supreme Court (on appeal) was eventually settled in 2008 by the Federal Government of Nigeria under the administration of late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.[16][17]

In 2009, he was appointed by the then President of Nigeria, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to liaise with the relevant United States authorities with regard to the Halliburton bribery investigation.[18] In 2010, he was appointed by the Government of Nigeria to hold watching brief in the criminal trial of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, popularly referred to as the "Underwear Bomber", who was convicted of attempting to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear while on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day, 2009.[19][20]

In April 2022, Oladele declared interest to seek re-election to the House of Representatives on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), to represent Yewa North/Imeko Afon Federal Constituency of Ogun State in the National Assembly.[21] However,  he  stepped down on the eve of the primary election following a consensus arrangement  initiated by Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun and the leadership of All Progressives Congress ( APC) in the State.[22]

He  later served as a member of the Pre-Convention Management and  Rappurteur Committee at the  Special Convention for the Presidential Primary  of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in June 2022.[23]

In October 2022, he  was appointed as the  Southwest  Secretary, Directorate of Grassroots Engagement and Orientation of Tinubu/Shetima APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) where he also doubles as Ogun State Coordinator of the Directorate.[24] On December 4, 2022, the Governor of Ogun state, Dapo Abiodun also appointed him into his Governorship Campaign Council  as Adviser to the public communication Committee.[25]

Pro-democracy and human rights activism

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Oladele was involved in the Nigerian pro-democracy movement and agitation for a civil rule that eventually led to the collapse of the military dictatorship in Nigeria in 1999.[26] He was a pioneer member of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), one of the earliest human rights organizations in Nigeria which was formed in 1989 to defend the rights of the people detained by the then federal military government. He was also a member of the National Consultative Forum (NCF), the first group in Nigeria to fight for the convocation of Sovereign National Conference (SNC) and whose progressive elements later formed the Campaign for Democracy (CD) in 1991.[27][28][29] In 1992, he teamed up with Frederick Fasehun, Baba Omojola, and several other labour leaders and student activists to form the Movement for Social and Economic Justice (MOSEJ) and later became its Executive Director. Thereafter, he and few other Pan-Yoruba pro-democracy activists led by Fasehun conceived and formed the Oodua People's Congress (OPC), a Yoruba Nationalist Movement.[17][28]

He was also involved in the formation and activities of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), including US based United Democratic Front of Nigeria (UDFN), the Nigerian Pro-democracy Network (NPDN) and Radio save Nigeria, a short-wave pro-democracy radio station operated by the Nigerian Advocacy Group for Democracy, and Human Rights (NAGDHR) in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.[30][31][28]

As a consequence of his involvement in pro-democracy activities in Nigeria, the administration of Ibrahim Babangida put Oladele under security watch and sometimes prevented him from traveling out of Nigeria. The same actions were repeated by the military dictatorship of Sani Abacha as he was arrested by the State Security Service (SSS) and routinely had his international passport seized.[32]

Nigeria’s Third Republic Politics

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Oladele was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in  Lagos State in the 90s. He contested in the primary elections to the Lagos State House of Assembly to represent Mushin Central I Constituency in Lagos State under the platform of SDP  but due to the intrigues between the Primrose Group  which Oladele belonged, and the rival Baba Kekere  or “Ase” Group,, there were irreconcilable differences in the primary election as a result of which he was denied the ticket while a rival candidate  from  Ase faction  was nominated by the Party for the December 1991 general elections.[33][34]

On June 12, 1993, he led a team of election observers that monitored the  Presidential elections  in Imo State, Nigeria  for MKO Abiola, the Presidential candidate of the  SDP.[35][36]

Nigerian House of Representatives

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Oladele served as Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Crimes during the Eighth National Assembly. He was a member of other Standing Committees including the Committees on Justice, Healthcare Service, Human Rights, Rules and Business and Agricultural Institutions. He also served on several panels and Ad-Hoc committees including the House Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness which investigated the violation of public trust in the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in 2018 and the Presidential Ad-Hoc Committee on the Autonomy of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to ensure the restoration of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit's membership of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units and Nigeria's membership of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to boost the country's capacity to deploy global Financial Intelligence in the fight against corruption in 2017.[37][38]

He introduced and sponsored the Public Holiday Amendment Act which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 11, 2019. The Act allows a public holiday to be declared on June 12 every year in Commemoration of Nigerian's Democracy Day.[39] He introduced and sponsored the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit Act which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, setting up a central body for processing intelligence related to financial transaction in Nigeria.[40] He also introduced the Proceeds of Crimes Bill, 2017, which made comprehensive provisions for the confiscation, forfeiture and management of properties derived from unlawful activities. The Bill was passed by the National Assembly in May 2019 but President Mohammadu Buhari declined assent to the Bill.[41]

However, On October 13, 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari resubmitted an Executive Bill on the Proceeds of Crime which seeks, among others, to address the problem of lack of transparency and accountability associated with the management of recovered funds by anticorruption agencies in the country to the Ninth National Assembly for necessary legislative work and passage.[42][43] The Bill was signed into law by the President on 13th, May, 2022.[44][45]

Selected publications

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References

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  1. ^ "Economic and Financial Crimes Commission - EFCC - Reps Backs EFCC's Anti-Graft Efforts".
  2. ^ Adebowale, Segun (27 June 2015). "New Criminal Justice Act will expedite corruption cases - Hon. Oladele". The Eagle Online. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  3. ^ "we-will-justify-our-electoral-victory"-–-oladele-apc-rep–elect ""We Will Justify Our Electoral Victory" – Oladele, APC Rep–Elect". Sahara Reporters. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  4. ^ Gbadebo, Bode (17 August 2015). "Nigeria: Anti-Corruption War Cannot Succeed Without Responsive Judicial System - Oladele". allafrica.com. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  5. ^ Adedeji, Dimeji (19 September 2013). "Daniel's lawyer condemns EFCC witness' withdrawal from fraud case". www.premiumtimesng.com. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  6. ^ OgunToday (20 February 2021). "Farmers-Herders crisis: Gov. Abiodun inaugurates 20-man Peace Committee, expects report in 4 weeks". OgunToday. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  7. ^ Akindele, Ajetunmobi (1998). A History of the Awori of Lagos State (1 ed.). Nigeria: Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education. p. 7. ISBN 978-978-142-035-1.
  8. ^ "Ife, Hh Aderemi I Titus Martins Adesoji Tadeniawo Aderemi, (1889–1980), Governor, Western Region, Nigeria, 1960–63; President House of Chiefs, Western Nigeria, 1954–60; Chairman, Council of Obas and Chiefs, Western Nigeria, since 1966; Member, Western House of Chiefs, since 1951", Who Was Who, Oxford University Press, 1 December 2007, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u155976, retrieved 15 July 2023
  9. ^ a b "Unilag crisis: Oladele commends Buhari's intervention -". The Eagle Online. 22 August 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Kayode O. Oladele".
  11. ^ Boyd, Libra (1 June 2022). "Funeral services for celebrity attorney & record label co-founder Benjamin Whitfield announced". Gospel Music Fever. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  12. ^ "United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit: Enahoro v. Abubakar*". International Legal Materials. 44 (5): 1264–1275. 2005. doi:10.1017/S0020782900007026. ISSN 0020-7829. S2CID 232250418.
  13. ^ "ICD - Abiola et al. V. Abubakar - Asser Institute".
  14. ^ "allAfrica.com: Abubakar Convicted of Rights Abuses". Archived from the original on 21 February 2002.
  15. ^ "Buhari says Abiola won 1993 presidential election". The East African. 22 August 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Abiola's Death: US Judge rules that Gen.Abdusalam Abubakar (rtd) is liable". Sahara Reporters. 29 September 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  17. ^ a b "Hon Oladele applauds late US Envoy's role in pro-democracy, human rights struggle against military". Tribune Online. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  18. ^ "allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Halliburton - FG Asks U.S. to Name Indicted Citizens (Page 1 of 1)". Archived from the original on 1 April 2009.
  19. ^ "I'm fulfilled for saving the lives of over 270 people— Abdul-Mutallib". Vanguard. 13 December 2018.
  20. ^ "Nigeria wants to watch Christmas bomber case". Politico. 21 June 2010.
  21. ^ "Kayode Oladele: Focused on Quality Representation". THISDAYLIVE. 2 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  22. ^ Olatunji, Daod (27 May 2022). "Confusion as Ogun APC members protest candidates' imposition, agent beaten". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Live Updates: APC Presidential Primary 2022 – THISDAYLIVE". www.thisdaylive.com. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  24. ^ Habib, Gift (26 December 2022). "Buhari Inaugurates APC Presidential Campaign Council". Punch. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  25. ^ Adekulle, Suloaman (9 December 2022). "Osoba, Daniel, others make Ogun APC campaign council". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  26. ^ "Abacha sought June 12 activists' support to remove Shonekan –Oladele, federal lawmaker". Punch Newspapers. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  27. ^ Oladele, Kayode; Loremikan, Sina (26 June 2020). "Good Night Comrade Ayodele Akele- The Bridge Builder Of The "Have Nots"". Sahara Reporters.
  28. ^ a b c "Abacha sought June 12 activists' support to remove Shonekan –Oladele, federal lawmaker". Punch Newspapers. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  29. ^ Oladele, Kayode (8 October 2019). "Political corruption and governance problems in Nigeria (1)". Punch.
  30. ^ Oladele, Kayode. "Falana -Vs- The African Union- A New Conundrum In Access To Justice". Latest Nigerian News. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  31. ^ Oladele, Kayode (1 August 2020). "Federalism and the Challenge of National Development In Nigeria". Premium Times Opinion.
  32. ^ Oladele, Kayode (1 August 2020). "Abacha sought June 12 activists' support to remove Shonekan". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  33. ^ Noble, Kenneth B. (16 December 1991). "Nigeria Splits Vote on Regional Lines". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  34. ^ "Nigerian Vote Moves Populous African State Closer to Civilian Rule". Christian Science Monitor. 7 July 1992. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  35. ^ Agbalajobi, Damilola (11 June 2019). "June 12 is now Democracy Day in Nigeria. Why it matters". The Conversation. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  36. ^ "Buhari honours MKO Abiola, declares June 12 Democracy Day". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  37. ^ "How N33bn Emergency Fund was embezzled - NASS Report". Vanguard News. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  38. ^ "Ag. President Osinbajo Raises Committee On Autonomy For Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit". Sahara Reporters. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  39. ^ Krishi, Musa Abdullahi (17 May 2019). "Senate approves June 12 as Democracy Day". Daily Trust. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  40. ^ "Buhari Signs Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit Bill". This Day Live. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  41. ^ "National Assembly Transmits Proceeds of Crime Bill to Buhari". This Day Live. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  42. ^ "Buhari Seeks Passage of Proceeds of Crime Bill". THISDAYLIVE. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  43. ^ "Buhari sends proceeds of crime bill to Senate". Punch Newspapers. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  44. ^ Release, Press (12 May 2022). "Buhari signs three bills to tackle money laundering, terrorism financing". Premium Times Nigeria. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  45. ^ "Buhari signs anti-money laundering bills into law". TheCable. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
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