Legal Luminary Profile: Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN

Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, OFR (18 November 1951) is a Nigerian Lawyer and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association and Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

Born in Ikere-Ekiti, he attended Amoye Grammar School in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State southwestern Nigeria but obtained the West Africa School Certificate at Ilesa Grammar before he proceeded to the University of Lagos, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Law.

Chief Wole Olanipekun was called to the Nigerian Bar in July, 1976. He became a Notary Public in 1987, and attained the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in July, 1991 in recognition of his forensic contributions to the advancement of the Legal Profession in Nigeria. Between 1992 and 1993, he served as the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the old Ondo State.

He was elected the 20th President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in August, 2002. His tenure as the NBA President has been associated with remarkable success and adjudged one of the best in the annals of things in the NBA. In March, 2021, he was elected as the Vice-Chairman of the Body of Benchers and in 2022, he was elected Chairman of the august body. At different times, he has served as a member of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), Council of Legal Education, Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, General Council of the Bar and the Ondo State Judicial Service Commission. He was also at a point in time, the Acting Chairman of the Council of Legal Education. He became a life member of the Body of Benchers in 2004, and he is also a life member of the National Executive Committee of the NBA. While he is still an active member of the International Bar Association (IBA), Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association (CLA), Pan African Lawyers’ Union (PALU), and West African Bar Association (WABA), he was, between 2002-2005, a member of Council of each of the International Law bodies.

In 1996, he instituted the Wole Olanipekun Scholarship Scheme for the purpose of awarding scholarships to brilliant, but indigent students and since then, the Scheme has, true to the intention of its primogenitor, produced numerous talented beneficiaries, some of whom are now doctors, lawyers, engineers, pharmacists, accountants, educationists and professionals in other fields.

He was the Pro-Chancellor & Chairman of the Council, University of Ibadan between 2009 and 2013, and during which time he also doubled as the Chairman, Court of Governors of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. Throughout his tenure in these two positions, he did not receive or collect a dime as allowance or even for transport reimbursement, rather, he not only gave all the allowances due to him back to the University, but also made available more funds to the University for the purpose of awarding scholarships to students. As Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the University of Ibadan, he initiated and established another Scholarship Scheme to assist five students per session from each of the faculties of Law, Technology (Computer) and the College of Medicine.

As part of his contributions to the provision of an enabling environment for learning, he built, equipped, furnished and donated a 420-seater Auditorium to the Faculty of Law of the University of Ibadan. In July 2011, he initiated an Endowment Fund for junior lawyers, particularly in the Lagos and Ilorin Branches of the NBA. Seven Junior Lawyers from the NBA, Ilorin Branch were beneficiaries of cars given to them by the Branch from the proceeds of the Endowment Fund, while over one hundred (100) Young Lawyers from the Lagos Branch were beneficiaries of lap-tops and flash drives distributed to them from the proceeds of the Endowment.

Chief Wole Olanipekun, through his Foundation (Wole Olanipekun Foundation), at the occasion of its maiden award ceremony on 24th April, 2021, financially empowered 100 Widows/Aged persons (Widows and Aged Empowerment Programme) and 100 youths (SMEs/Youth Empowerment Programme) at his hometown, Ikere, Ekiti State. At the second edition of the Wole Olanipekun Foundation Award Ceremony, which took place on 9th October, 2021, Chief Wole Olanipekun, again, financially empowered 100 Widows/Aged persons and 100 youths at his nativity, Ikere, Ekiti State. A total of 400 beneficiaries have so far benefited from the Foundation.

Chief Olanipekun has equally set the pace in many areas in the legal field and unravelled unimaginable legal difficulties in many areas of the law. He led the team of lawyers in the popular case of Inakoju v. Adeleke, where for the first time in Nigeria, the court agreed that the issue of impeachment of a governor can be looked at and overturned if it failed to strictly comply with the law as regards procedure. He also led the team of lawyers who retrieved the mandate of former Governor Adams Oshiomole in Edo state, Olusegun Mimiko in Ondo and has led the legal team for three presidential election petitions and won in all. No lawyer in Nigeria has had such rare opportunity or privilege.

Chief Wole Olanipekun is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb.), Fellow, Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (FICMC), Fellow, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (FNIALS) and Fellow, College of Education, Ikere (FCEI). He was awarded with the degree of Doctor of Letters, Honoris Causa (LL.D) by the University of Ibadan, in November, 2014 and on 4th November, 2021, he was conferred with the degree of Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) by Redeemers University, Ede, Osun State. He holds the National Honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (OFR).

Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, is the Principal Partner of the Law Firm of Wole Olanipekun & Co., with offices in Lagos and Abuja; with Legal Practice covering diverse areas and fields, both nationally and internationally, including but not limited to Land Law, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Labour Law, Maritime, Arbitration and Dispute Resolution, Admiralty, Banking, Insurance, Election Matters, Aviation, Telecommunications, Chieftaincy and Intellectual Property.

Chief Wole Olanipekun is married to Erelu Omolara Olanipekun they are blessed with 4 children (Oladapo Olanipekun, SAN, Barr.Bukola Olanipekun, Olabode Olanipekun, SAN and Barr.Temitope Olanipekun) – and is a grandfather.