Lagos state loses member of Judiciary

THE Lagos State judiciary has lost one of its judges with the sudden demise of Justice (Mrs.) Wasilat Abisoye Esther Ayo (nee Shitta-Bey).

Late Justice Ayo, according to a statement issued yesterday from the office of Lagos State Chief Registrar, Mr. Ganiyu Safari, died on December 30, 2012, at the age of 47 years. Before her death, Justice Ayo was a judge in the Land Division of the court.

She attended Methodist Girls’ High School, Yaba, Lagos, between 1975 and 1981 for her secondary education before proceeding to the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria for her tertiary education between 1981 and 1983 and later the University of Lagos, Akoka, between 1983 and 1985, where she bagged a degree in law.

The late judge was called to Bar in 1986 and worked in several firms both in Nigeria and outside the country before her eventual appointment as a judge of the Lagos High Court, Commercial Division, on May 24, 2001.

Born to Senator Sikiru Ayodeji Shitta-Bey and Alhaja Raheenat Abiodun Shitta-Bey on June 30, 1965 in Lagos, Justice Ayo was married to Gabriel Olabode Ayo, a businessman and consultant in December 1990, a marriage that was blessed with two children.

Funeral arrangements, according to a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the state’s judiciary, Mrs. Grace Alo, is to be announced by the family.

The late judge is survived by her husband and children.