Barring any earth-shaking circumstances, former Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Mr. Lawal Mohammed Alade Pedro SAN is set to be named the next Attorney-General & Commissioner for Justice for Nigeria’s economic capital.

CITY LAWYER recalls that Pedro is one of the nominees whose names were sent by Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for approval by the State House of Assembly. He is to replace Bar Leader and former Lagos State chief law officer, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo SAN.

Pedro’s imminent emergence has attracted excitement among some justice sector stakeholders, with one commentator saying: “My Learned Silk Moyo Onigbanjo SAN was a very vibrant and successful AG. We were witnesses to some of the reforms. All Successive AGs in Lagos from (Prof.) Yemi Osinbajo SAN, Supo Shasore SAN, Ade Ipaye, to Adeniji Kazeem SAN and now Moyo Onigbanjo SAN have been phenomenal and role models to other AGs of States and even AGFs. I don’t support mediocres. I recognise excellence when I see it. If all state AGs have done half (of) what they did, Nigeria wouldn’t be where it is. I celebrate Lawal Pedro SAN because he was part of the success that most of them could boast of.”

Pedro was born in the Campos, Brazilian Quarters area of Lagos State to the families of Libento Momoh Pedro and Ojutiku-Ambose Branch of Akinsemoyin Royal Family.

He attended Christ Church Cathedral Primary School, Broad Street, Lagos where he obtained the First School Leaving Certificate; Anwar-Ul-Islam College Agege, Lagos (formerly known as Ahamadiyya College, Agege) and Methodist Boys High School, Lagos where he obtained his West African School Certificate and Higher School Certificate respectively.

He obtained his Law degree from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) with a Second-Class Upper honours degree in 1985, and was called to the Bar in 1986 after attending the Nigerian Law School. He had his mandatory national service (NYSC) as a Legal Officer in the Ibadan Western Regional Office of First Bank of Nigeria Plc. Thereafter, he cut his teeth as a private legal practitioner in the law office of Dele Akinmusuti & Co.

Pedro joined the Lagos State Ministry of Justice in December 1987 and worked in various directorates before being elevated to the position of Director of Civil Litigation in 2006. He held the position until he was appointed the Solicitor General of Lagos State and Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice in April 2008. In recognition of his contributions and dedication to the legal profession in Nigeria, Pedro was elevated to the Inner Bar as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in December 2008.

He served as Head of Prosecution of many high-profile criminal cases in Lagos State between 2008 and 2015 up to the Supreme Court. Pedro retired from the Lagos State public service in August 2015 to return to private legal practice as Principal Partner in the law firm of Lawal Pedro SAN & Associates, with offices in Lagos and Abuja.

Pedro is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Ciarb) Nigeria Branch, an examiner of the Institute of Arbitrators Nigeria, and a certified Mediator (CEDR). He is also an author of various published legal texts including Jurisdiction of Courts in Nigeria, Nigeria’s Quest for Egalitarian Federalism, and Contemporary Issues in Nigeria Constitutional Law (Contributor).

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