Last week’s appointment of an alumnus of the University of Ilorin, Mr. Muyiwa Tola Atoyebi, as the youngest Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in the almost 50 years history of the title, has been described as an incontrovertible attestation to the quality of services offered by the University.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof.Sulymam Age Abdulkareem, stated this while reacting to the elevation of the 34 years old Atoyebi into the coveted inner bar.
In a statement signed on his behalf by the University’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr.Kunle Akogun, the Vice-Chancellor said that those who are familiar with the high quality of teaching, learning, research and community engagement obtainable at the University would not be surprised about the emergence of Atoyebi as the youngest Senior Advocate of Nigeria at the young age of 34.
Prof.Abdulkareem described the Igosun-born lawyer as an oustanding alumnus who, by his infectious erudition, astonishing personal attributes and the latest professional accomplishment, has heigthened the uncommon prestige of the University of Ilorin as truly better by far.
Abdulkareem added that the appointment of Atoyebi has also made him the first product of the University of Ilorin to be so elevated into the highest professional cadre of the Nigerian legal practice.
The Vice-Chancellor recalled that just last year, two lecturers of the University, Prof. Wahab Egbewole and Prof. Muhammad Akanbi, joined one of their colleagues, Olatoke, as members of the inner bar following their well-applauded elevations to the status of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
Prof. Abdulkareem said that the emulation of the resounding professionalism and profound resourcefulness of those academics and their colleagues by their numerous students as exemplified in the admittance of Mr.Atoyebi into the highest achievable professional status in law in Nigeria is therefore,a great pride and welcome development to the entire University of Ilorin community.
While Abdulkareem commended the Legal Appointment and Privileges Committee for the appointment of Atoyebi as a silk at a relatively young age, the Vice-Chancellor urged other alummi of the nation’s most subscribed University,their ages and callings notwithstanding, to continue to do the institution proud by ensuring that they pursue excellence wherever they find themselves as imbued in them at the University.
Atoyebi, who is an indigene of Igosun in the Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State, graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin in 2005 and was called to the bar in 2006.
