Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo, former senator, ex-governor of Kwara State, and a prominent figure in Nigeria’s pro-democracy movement, has died at the age of 84.
Family sources confirmed that Adebayo passed on peacefully in the early hours of Wednesday in Abuja.
Born on February 24, 1941, in the Igbaja community of Kwara State, Adebayo’s public service journey began with his election as senator on the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) platform in 1979. He later served as Governor of Kwara State in 1983, shortly before the military coup that toppled the civilian government.
Between 2003 and 2006, Adebayo served as Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, bringing his statesmanship and reformist stance into the federal cabinet.
A firm believer in democracy, Adebayo was a leading member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), the movement that fiercely opposed military rule and fought to reclaim the June 12, 1993 presidential mandate awarded to Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola.
In 1993, Adebayo famously rejected a ministerial appointment under the repressive regime of General Sani Abacha—a move that further solidified his status as a man of principle. Two years later, on May 31, 1995, following a bomb explosion in Ilorin, the police arrested and interrogated Adebayo and other NADECO leaders in connection with the incident.
As Abacha’s crackdown on dissent intensified, Adebayo fled into exile in Canada in 1996 to escape persecution.
Until his death, Adebayo remained a symbol of courage, integrity, and the unyielding fight for democratic ideals in Nigeria.