Former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Rotimi Akeredolu, has described the death of popular human rights activist, Bamidele Aturu, as tragic in many respects.
Aturu, a founding member of Democratic Alternative, a political group committed to pursuing deep-rooted democratic principles and holding those in power accountable to the governed, died in a Lagos hospital on Wednesday from an undisclosed brief illness.
In a statement he personally signed on Thursday, Akeredolu said: “The news, yet again, of the sudden passing of one of the few genuine voices in the fight for the emancipation of the downtrodden, Mr Bamidele Francis Aturu, sometime yesterday after a brief illness, is tragic in many respects.
“The fact that this uncompromising advocate of the masses died at a time when his seminal and forthright intervention is badly needed in the face of benumbing socio-economic problems which threaten to tear the country apart at present marks his departure as a colossal loss.
“We are consoled with the knowledge that his short lifespan was eventful. We send our heartfelt condolences to his family. We pray that the Almighty grant them the strength to bear the irreparable loss.”
