Get Guardian on GoogleTHERE is no doubt, 60 years is a significant milestone, particularly for a man whose professional journey has taken him across different jurisdictions. For Hon. Justice Tunde Ademola Bakre Jnr, whose career has taken him from Ogun State to courts across the Commonwealth, the occasion provided an opportunity for family, friends and associates to celebrate his life and reflect on a judicial career spanning several jurisdictions.
The choice of The Gambia as the venue was significant. Justice Bakre served in the country following his secondment by Nigeria’s National Judicial Council (NJC) to support the Gambian judiciary in 2018. His years there formed an important chapter of his international judicial career, making the country a fitting setting for the birthday celebration. His initial three-year assignment was extended at the request of the Gambian judiciary
Justice Bakre’s journey to the Bench began with a different academic path. An alumnus of Olabisi Onabanjo University (formerly Ogun State University), he initially studied English before returning to pursue Law. Called to the Nigerian Bar in 1993, he spent about two decades in legal practice before his appointment as a judge of the Ogun State High Court in 2013.
His judicial career subsequently crossed national boundaries. After his service in The Gambia, he joined the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in 2023, serving at the Criminal Court in Antigua and Barbuda.
The learned silk’s assignments included presiding over the country’s first judge-alone murder trial. In October 2025, he moved to the Supreme Court of the Turks and Caicos Islands, where he sits in the Criminal Division in Grand Turk.
The celebration in The Gambia brought together guests from Nigeria, the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain and other countries. Members of Abeokuta Golf Club and Different Strokes Golf Group also attended, while some guests used the occasion to reconnect after 10 and 20 years apart.
For Olayinka Ogundalu, a United States-based childhood friend whose relationship with Justice Bakre spans 55 years, the milestone was an opportunity to acknowledge a friendship sustained through different phases of life. He described the celebrant as dependable, warm, humble and considerate.
Activities during the programme included golf outings, cocktail gatherings, an all-white disco night and a celebratory dinner. The all-white event, held at a venue opposite the popular Senegambia Hotel, featured music, dancing and conversations among guests.
Beyond the music and festivities, the gathering reflected the personal relationships that have accompanied Justice Bakre through a career across Nigeria, The Gambia, Antigua and Barbuda, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
At 60, the jurist affectionately known among friends as DBJ was celebrated not only for his professional journey but also for the friendships and family connections that have remained part of it.
Justice Bakre’s wife, Bukola, and their children, Boluwatife and Tiwaloluwa, joined the celebration. His younger sister, Dolapo Orekoya, also contributed to the preparations by providing yellow Adire trousers for participants before leaving Nigeria. Commemorative souvenirs and access bracelets were added to the occasion.
