About the lawyer
Chief Wole Olanipekun, CFR, SAN, LL.D., D.LITT., FICMC, FCIArb., FNIALS
Founding/Principal Partner
Chief Wole Olanipekun, CFR, SAN, LL.D, D.LITT, FIMC, FCIArb., FNIALS, is a respected elder statesman, consummate intelligentsia, renowned national interventionist, advocate extraordinaire, quintessential wordsmith, prolific writer, and seasoned orator, whose foray into legal practice has berthed a top tier Law Firm– Wole Olanipekun & Co; the legal hub of intellectual giantry.
Chief Wole Olanipekun is a legal luminary with a penchant for integrity and professional excellence. His legal practice cuts across diverse areas of law, including but not limited to, Land Law, Chieftaincy, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Labour Law, Maritime, Arbitration and Dispute Resolution, Admiralty, Banking, Insurance, Election Matters, Aviation, Telecommunications, Oil & Gas, Taxation, Intellectual Property etc.
Driven by ambition and inspired by the likes of Chief Rotimi Williams, Kehinde Sofolas, Afe Babalola, Richard Akinjides, amongst others—Chief Olanipekun was conferred with the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 199, at the time he took the Silk, he was the youngest advocate to ever receive that honor at the time. Reputed for his legal forensic prowess and intellectual giantry, Chief Wole Olanipekun is patron to several Law Faculties and Colleges of Law in the country, including University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Lagos State University (LASU), University of Ilorin, University of Abuja, Ambrose Alli University (formerly Edo State University, Ekpoma), Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Caleb University etc.
To Chief Wole Olanipekun, “a lawyer must be painstaking, God-fearing, sure-footed, steadfast, hardworking, honest, persevering and creative. He must be a doctor, a psychologist; he must be the melting pot of all professions. Above all, he must be close to God and always ask for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.”
Education:
He is a product of highly reputable institutions, including:
Nigerian Law School / Lagos Campus (1976)
Studied Law at the University of Lagos (1972-1975)
Ilesa Grammar School, Ilesa (1970-1971)
Amoye Grammar School, Ikere, Ekiti State (1965-1969)
DOCTOR/FELLOWSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES/NATIONAL AND ACADEMIC AWARDS
Chief Wole Olanipekun is a distinguished Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb.); Fellow, Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (FICMC); Distinguished Fellow, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (FNIALS); Distinguished Fellow, College of Education, Ikere (FCEI); Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa (LL.D), University of Ibadan, in 2014; Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.), Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, in 2021; Doctor of Constitutional Law (Honoris Causa), Federal University Oye, Ekiti State, in 2023.
STATE, NATIONAL AND OTHER AWARDS
- Chief Wole Olanipekun was honoured alongside six other icons by the Ondo State Government as a Leader in Achievement. This legal icon was honoured by the Ekiti State Government with the distinguished ANCOPPS Medallion Award.
- On 17th September, 2012, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan conferred him with the National Honour of the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) in recognition of his vast contributions to national development.
- On 11th October, 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR yet again, conferred Chief Olanipekun with the National Honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR). The third highest rank in the hierarchy of National honours.
- Just on 19th July, 2024, this towering figure was honoured by the Nigeria Global List in London, United Kingdom as one of the 50 Most Influential Nigerians globally, who have made substantial contributions to Nigeria’s development and influence on the international stage.
HONOURS FROM ALMA-MATER AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS
- Chief Wole Olanipekun was honoured with the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos.
- In 1999, he was equally honoured with the Merit Alumnus Award of each of Amoye Grammar School, Ikere, and Ilesa Grammar School, Ilesa.
- The name of this prodigious alumnus is on the Honours List of the Most Outstanding Alumni of Ilesa Grammar School, among other great and eminent Nigerians who have passed through the portals of the Institution.
- In 2008, this legal luminary was, yet again, honoured with the Distinguished Alumnus Award, University of Lagos.
- On February 17, 2024, Chief Wole Olanipekun was inaugurated into the Hall of Fame of Amoye Grammar School Old Students’ Association.
- Recently, Immanuel College Academy of Theology and Christian Education honoured him as a Distinguished Fellow of the highly venerated episcopal Institution on June 11, 2024
APPOINTMENT AS PRO-CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS
On June 15, 2024, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, announced the appointment of this foremost citizen as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, University of Lagos. He and all other members of Governing Councils of Federal Universities and Tertiary Institutions were formally inaugurated on July 4, 2024. His appointment has been applauded across the length and breadth of the country, considering his exemplary leadership traits, as well as his humble and selfless contributions to other Universities where he had served/still serving in similar or other capacities. He has since assumed office as the Pro-Chancellor of the most cosmopolitan University in Nigeria, where, coincidentally, he was once a student.
