Professor Femi Adekunle: Buhari mourns death of a friend

President Muhammadu Buhari has confirmed the death of Professor Femi Odekunle, a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC, expressing great shock.

Odekunle, Nigeria’s first professor of criminology died of COVID-19 on Tuesday. He was aged 77.

Odekunle also served as political adviser to former Chief of General Staff, Gen. Oladipo Diya, in the Abacha years.

Buhari, in a statement by Garba Shehu, his SSA Media, described Professor Odekunle as valued friend.

He also described him as a towering intellectual giant with an impeccable knowledge of his chosen academic field, criminology and in such others as governance and administration.

“His death is very saddening,” said the President.

“His lasting contributions as well as his charisma, wit and sense of humour will be sorely missed by all us, his friends and associates. May the Almighty repose his soul.”

Odekunle died on Tuesday after spending about 12 days at the Gwagwalada isolation centre in the Federal Capital Territory.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation had hinted about his death, when he declared that a ‘very close friend’ of government died at 6.30pm.

Odekunle taught for many years at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

The Ilesha, Osun state born Adekunle graduated from the University of Ibadan, in 1968.

He got his PhD in sociology and social psychiatry from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in the United States, in 1974.