Cancer Claims Life Of Gifted Nigerian-Canadian Lawyer Ayo Odekunle In His Prime

A legal practitioner, writer and editor Ayo Odekunle has died after a battle with late-stage stomach cancer.

Odekunle, who had relocated to Canada in 2020, was diagnosed with stage four cancer which had spread rapidly. Doctors said his condition was impossible to cure at that advanced stage.

He passed away on Friday in Edmonton, Canada, where he had continued to work as a lawyer after his diagnosis. Last summer, he was called to the bar in Alberta, having already qualified as a lawyer in Nigeria.

Condolences have poured in from prominent Nigerians, including former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and human rights activist Deji Adeyanju. They praised Odekunle’s brilliance and the passion he showed in his legal career despite his illness.

Okowa said Odekunle’s tweets displayed “the insightfulness of his tweets, the passion of his support for our party and myself, and the intentionality of his actions.”

He has left behind his wife Halimah and their two young children. Friends have called for support to be rendered to his family as they cope with this tragic loss.

Odekunle studied law at the University of Ibadan, graduating in 2011. He was a dedicated legal practitioner and used his writing to advocate for social justice before his passing at such a young age.