Senate President mourns Odekunle

Senate President Ahmad Lawan has expressed shock over the news of the death of Prof. Femi Odekunle, a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC).

Odekunle, 77, was Nigeria’s first Professor of Criminology.

He died at the COVID-19 Isolation Center in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Tuesday evening.

Lawan, in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media, Ola Awoniyi, described the death of Odekunle as a great loss to the academic community and to Nigeria in general.

The senate president said the deceased was a reputable scholar and an academic giant, who imparted knowledge to his numerous students.

He said the late professor served his country with his expertise in a discipline in which he was an authority.

Lawan recalled Odekunle’s immense contributions as a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC).

He condoled with the family of the departed and commiserated with the government and people of Osun State.

He also sympathised with the entire academic community over the loss of one of them.

Lawan prayed for the sweet repose of Odekunle’s soul and for God to grant his loved ones the fortitude to bear his loss.

Odekunle, a graduate of the University of Ibadan in 1968, got his PhD in Sociology and Social Psychiatry from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States, in 1974.

Odekunle lectured at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in Kaduna, and other universities.