Fayemi Appoints Olawale Fapohunda as Attorney-General of Ekiti State
Renowned Justice Sector Reform Lawyer and former Attorney-General of Ekiti State, Olawale Fapohunda has been reappointed by Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi as the Attorney-General of Ekiti State.
Before his appointment, Fapohunda was Special Adviser, Legal Matters Honourable Minister Mines and Steel Development. He was responsible for the review of the Mining and Minerals Act and negotiations on the reopening of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex.
Fapohunda is best known for his work in the area of human rights and he is one of Nigeria’s leading experts in justice sector reform.
He is the Vice – Chairman, Federal Government Panel on the Implementation of Justice Sector Reforms, he was a two-term Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission.
He is currently Vice- Chairman, National Committee for the Prevention of Torture. He is also the Chairman of Nigerian Military Human Rights Dialogue. It is to his credit that the Nigerian Army established human rights desks in all its formations in Nigeria. He has the distinct credential of serving on the Justice Sector Reform team of every Attorney- General and Minister of Justice in Nigeria since 1999.
He drafted and played a key role in the advocacy of several justice sector reform bills including the National Human Rights Commission Act, the Legal Aid Council Act, the Prisons Act, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and the the Prevention of Torture Act.
He served as AttorneyGeneral Ekiti State between 2013-2014, during his tenure Ekiti State became the first state in Nigeria to open a register of sex offenders and the second state in Nigeria to pass the administration of criminal justice law.
Fapohunda drafted the Nigeria’s National Action Plan on Human Rights which is the basis for the evaluation of Nigeria’s human rights record especially at the United Nations.
He is acknowledged to have supervised the first comprehensive audit of the all the 234 Prison facilities in Nigeria.
He was Chairperson of the Nigerian Bar Association Justice Sector Reform Committee and a three-time recipient of the NBA Presidents Bar Excellence Award. He is a frequent contributor to THISDAY Law Page and writes in his Colum Serious Matters