Kwara CJ swears in Olateju as Notary Public of Nigeria
The Kwara State Chief Judge, Justice Saidu Durosinlorun Kawu has sworn in Barrister Taofiq Olateju, as a Notary Public of Nigeria.
Another notary public by the Chief Judge is Barrister Y. O. Ahmed-Aliagan.
The appointment was made according to the Notaries Public Act Cap. N141, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and is one of the coveted ranks in the legal profession.
The law states legal practitioners who have qualified to practice in the Nigerian Bar for at least seven years and passed the screening process conducted by professional ability and integrity are appointed as Notary Public.
Each applicant must also be recommended by the High Court of the state, where he/she practices to be successful.
Notaries public are by law deemed as officers of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. In many countries of the world, a document can only be accepted internationally if it has been notarized or formally authenticated and its genuineness and value verified and certified by a Notary Public.
While the appointment was made by former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammed through an instrument under his hand dated February 28, 2022, Olateju and Ahmed-Aliagan were yesterday sworn in on behalf of the CJN by the Kwara CJ, Justice S.D. Kawu. In attendance were his principal and mentor Mall Yusuf Ali, SAN, Alhaji Adebayo Oba Adelodun, SAN, some colleagues in the office and some members of the Nigerian Bar Association Ilorin branch.
The Chief Judge and Mallam Yusuf Ali, SAN advised that we should always operate within the bounds of the law. Before we notarize any document we must make sure that we do the needful within the armpit of the law. We should not notarize documents in absence of the owner of the documents. We should continue to protect our integrity in all ramifications.
Olateju, who is an associate in the law firm of Yusuf O. Ali & Co. (Ghalib Chambers) attended St. Joseph’s Nursery and Primary School, Ilorin for his Primary education, Government Secondary School, Ilorin for his secondary education and Kwara State College of Arabic and Islamic Legal studies then affiliated to Bayero University, Kano where he obtained his diploma certificate in common and Islamic law. In pursuit of his legal career, he read Common and Islamic law for the better at the far University of Ilorin. And he also obtained Master of Laws degrees from the same University of Ilorin.
He proceeded to the Nigerian law school (Abuja Campus) and was called to the largest and most prestigious Nigeria bar in 2013.
He did his one-year compulsory youth service in the law firm of Afe Babalola SAN & CO. Emmanuel Chambers, (Abuja Office) in 2014. In 2016 he gain employment in the famous law firm of Yusuf O. Ali & Co. where he practices law to date.
