Honourable Justice Afolabi Adeniran, Retired Acting Chief Judge of the High Court of Oyo State, was born in Ogbomoso in the then-Western Region of Nigeria, now Oyo State, on the August, 1942, to the family of Mr. Joseph Adeniran and Mrs. Mary Adeniran, both of blessed memory.

His Lordship thereafter worked briefly in the Central Bank of Nigeria until 1964. The ambition, desire, hunger, and thirst of My Lord for higher education to improve his life and status in society compelled him to resign from his appointment in the Central Bank of Nigeria in 1964 and travelled to London the same year after he got admission into the Council of Legal Education School of Law of the Prestigious Lincoln’s Inn, London between 1964 and 1967 and later to Holburn Law Tutors, London between 1967 and 1968. My Lord later qualified as a Barrister-at-Law of the prestigious Lincoln’s Inn London and was called to the English Bar in the June, 1967. His Lordship was later conferred with Bachelor of Laws (LLB Hons) Degree of the University of London in 1968, after which His Lordship worked briefly as a Tax Officer – Higher Grade with Kensington Tax District, London. My Lord later returned to Nigeria and attended the Nigerian Law School in October 1969, after which he was called to the Nigerian Bar on the 26th day of June 1970 and started his private legal practice. This journey led him to set up his law firm under the name Afolabi Adeniran & Co, a firm of solicitors and advocates of the Supreme Court of Nigeria between 1970 and 1992.

His Lordship is happily married with children, two of whom have followed in his legal footsteps the others exceeding in their chosen careers, and several grandchildren.  

To the Glory of Almighty God my Lord in the course of his private Legal Practice, had the privilege of mentoring, tutoring, and training several legal practitioners who worked in his Law Firm and those who associated with him, some of whom are now the leading lights and shining stars both in private legal practice in Nigeria and in the Nigerian Judicial Service now Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Judges of the High Court, Appeal Court Justices, Supreme Court Justices, Magistrates, Governors, Attorney Generals both at the State and Federal and Legal Advisers in the corporate world and industry.

My Lord was at the peak of his successful private legal practice when he was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Oyo State on the 2^nd day of November 1992. During His Lordship’s appointment as Judge of the High Court of Oyo State, His Lordship also served, in various other capacities in the Oyo State Judiciary as a member and later the Chairman of the Law Reports Committee of the Oyo State High Court between 1977 and 2004.

In recognition of his judicial activism, proactive, decisive role in developing the law, and influence, His Lordship was appointed the Acting Chief Judge of the High Court of Oyo State on the 7th day of January 2005. He held this position satisfactorily until he attained retirement age and eventually retired gallantly on the 14th day of August 2008, to the glory of Almighty God.

His Lordship equally shared His experience on the Bench as follows:-      

“First of all, I must confess, I was more interested in private legal practice. It took a lot to persuade myself to abandon the Bar for the Bench. You go to the bench after standing for a long time at the bar, having spent twenty-two and a half years there. A colleague who knew me closely persuaded me to join the Bench. And again, for me, to date, I never regretted being a Judge”.