Justice Akinloye Sanda, a fine gentleman, in whose 3rd Floor Western House Chambers I served my Law School Chambers Attachment.
He was friends with my maternal uncle, Chief Agboola Oke, the MD of Guinea Insurance Plc, on whose platform I was admitted into his Chambers for my Law Office Attachment.
He was a professional to the core in ALL he did.
I recall his well starched white shirts on which he wore his well starched collars and bibs that stood out straight courtesy of the Igbosere Togolese washerman.
He wore them on pin stripped Barrister's Trousers and matching Black Court Vest. He was a great sight to behold on Monday mornings in court. Out of court, the cut of his well fitted suits were something to write home about. 2 piece suits were his speciality
He treated us, Dupe Ojo, Bola Lasebikan and myself, with kindness and shared many jokes with us. He may as well have ranked as our Uncle in his treatment of us.
Dupe Ojo was his Ibadan older cousin's daughter who he referred to as "Sister" and he told us how they back in the days poked fun at the Ojo men's swag chorusing aloud,
"Ojo 'Badan shange your style" .
There was also the story he told us of the lady who went to Quo Vadis Restaurant wanting to pose to her hearers asked for "spring rollers".
He was a jolly good fellow and had his wits about him, ALWAYS.
He was a consumate litigator and went to court every and anywhere.
I recall him taking us with him to Court in Oyo town where he appeared before his cousin, the late Honourable Justice Okeyode Adesina.
We went into the Judge's Chambers thereafter to pay our respects and Mr. Sanda (as he then was) in his lawyer's gab prostrated for his cousin and said
"E kasan Boda"
and Justice Adesina responded
"Akinloye dide".
We jokingly referred to him thenceforth as "Boda Akinloye".
Such was the extent of his humility.
He shared with us an experience of how he earned £1k sterling from a brief which he would have missed if he had not climbed up the stairs of Unity House to the topmost floor to see the client because the lifts were out of service on that day. That fee he told us funded his family's vacation trip to England that year. He taught thereby to NOT let any mountain stop us but to do whatever is required to get to the other side regardless of all the obstacles presented and that we should not consider anything too menial for us to do as lawyers. £1k for climbing up the steps of Unity House to deliver on a Client's brief was a story etched forever in my memory.
He was a Father of many sons (cant recall their number right now) and ONLY one daughter. He loved her to the moon and back told us well ahead of time how he would cry when his daughter, who was only about 5 years old at the time, gets married. He assured me he carried out his threat much later on enquiry .
He loved his profession very dearly and wanted to remain in practice but was prevailed upon by his older cousin to come to Ibadan and take up an appointment on the Bench. That appointment became the sore turning point in his professional life.
I met him on Liverpool Street in London sometime in 2004 and he was a shadow of his jolly boisterous self.
I was very happy to see him after a very long time but also noticed an air of gloom around him.
My enquires revealed that he had been attacked in his official residence and brutally wounded by some criminals he sentenced to prison. He never from what I knew about him later on, regained his jolly mien thereafter. He was crushed by that experience.
I sought him out after I came back to live in Ibadan and spoke with him unknown to me for the last time in October 2020.
He was very happy to hear from me and I had planned to visit him in his Olubadan Estate residence but never made it before he passed.
"Boda Akinloye" would be sorely missed by his dear wife, daughter and sons, to whom he was a quintessential Husband and Father and also by his extended Sanda, Adesina Families and other cousins.
He was a good man, an Israelite without guile.
May his soul rest in perfect peace.