The death of prominent Human Rights activist, Bamidele Aturu has been announced. Bamidele came to prominence as a fighter against power abuses when, as a corp member in 1988, he refused to shake the hand of a military administrator of Niger State, Col. Lawan Gwadabe during his NYSC passing out parade. Bamidele had declared then that the military had caused great harm to the democratic aspirations of Nigerians.
A very close pal to the deceased, Dr Joe Odumakin said Aturu was unconscious on the way to the hospital and didn’t make it there alive. He further said that the cause of his death is yet to be determined. Debo Adeniran of CACOL who expressed sadness over the untimely death of Aturu said the Human Right lawyer slumped. “I was told he collapsed, but the news did not come to me early. By the time I heard it, I called his wife, the background noise coming from the other end seemed sounded like a church setting. It was another person, a lady, who picked the phone and was just shouting: ‘it is well’ and that Aturu’s wife cannot speak to me.
“He must have overworked himself or he is a victim of the doctors’ strike, but we will know in due course,” Debo Adeniran said. Before his death, he was the founder of Bamidele Aturu & Co. His corpse has been deposited in LUTH Mortuary for autopsy. He was 49 years old. May his soul rest in peace