Former chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission( ICPC), Justice Mustapha Akanbi is dead.
He was 85 and died in the early hours of Sunday, according to family sources.
He was also buried on Sunday amid encomiums from well meaning Nigerians including President Muhammadu Buhari, senate President, Bukola Saraki, Kwara state governor, Abdullfattah Ahmed, among others.
Meanwhile, President Buhari has paid tribute to the former President of the Court of Appeal, describing Akanbi as a man whose greatest asset in life was his enviable integrity and incorruptibility.
While the eminent jurist was being laid to rest on Sunday morning in Ilorin, Kwara State, the President said Akanbi will be long remembered for his enormous contributions in bringing credibility and respectability to the country’s judiciary.
The President noted that his death was a colossal loss not only to the Nigerian judiciary, but the country as a whole.
The President said: “Being respected by the people for your honesty and patriotism is the best legacy a man can leave behind.
“In a country where corruption is perceived as fashionable, Akanbi stood out as a remarkable man who put personal integrity and selflessness before the desire for money outside his legitimate income.”
Buhari affirmed that Akanbi’s greatest achievement was leaving the public service with his integrity intact and untainted, noting that throughout his distinguished career in the judiciary and public service, he resisted the defeatist mindset that ‘if you can’t beat them, join them.”
“Great men like Akanbi didn’t believe in joining evil because it was popular or supported by the majority,” the President said.
President Buhari extended his heartfelt condolences to Justice Akanbi’s family, the government and people of Kwara State and the entire Ilorin Emirate.
He prayed to Almighty Allah will forgive the gentle soul of the deceased and reward his remarkable good deeds with Aljanna (paradise).