Kayode Ajulo
Olukayode "Kayode" Abraham Ajulo, OON, SAN (born Ifira-Akoko, Ondo State) is a Nigerian lawyer, arbitrator, civil rights activist, and politician. He is the founder and principal partner of Kayode Ajulo & Co. Castle of Law, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), and the current Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Ondo State. Ajulo was elevated to Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 2023 and conferred the national honour Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) for advocacy.
Early life and education
Ajulo was born in Ibadan to Solomon and Christiana Ajulo of Ifira-Akoko, Ondo State. His parents were booksellers. He attended Aquinas College, Akure, before studying law at the University of Jos (LL.B Hons, 1999). Called to the Nigerian Bar in 2001, he later trained in arbitration at the University of Oxford and holds adjunct lectureships at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, and Egalitarian Basic Studies Institute, Ghana.
Legal career
Ajulo began as Federal Attorney/State Counsel at the Federal Ministry of Justice. In 2006 he founded Kayode Ajulo & Co. Castle of Law, pioneering Nigeria’s first fully online law firm in 2016. He has served as:
- Chairman, Board of Radiovision Corporation (Ondo State, 2013)
- National Secretary, Labour Party (2014–2015)
- Diocesan Registrar, Anglican Diocese of Akoko
- Pioneer Chairman, NBA Mentoring Committee for Young Lawyers (2025)
In 2023 the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee named him SAN among 58 new silks. In 2024 Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa swore him in as Ondo State Attorney General. Within his first year he:
- Appointed 273 lawyers as honorary advisers
- Launched an 8-point justice-sector reform agenda
- Created a 24-hour Citizens Rights and Advisory Bureau (CRAB)
- Established Nigeria’s first state-level Criminal Records Database
- Championed the Anti-Land Grabbing Law (2025)
- Secured N32 billion for a new Judiciary Complex
Political and activist roles
Ajulo contested the FCT Senate seat on the Labour Party ticket in 2011. On 7 April 2011 armed men abducted him hours before polls; the Nigeria Labour Congress boycotted voting in Abuja until his release. He later became Mayegun Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland (2019) and Bamofinlewe of Akure Kingdom.
Philanthropy
After his son Master Kayikunmi died in a 2017 domestic accident, Ajulo founded the Master Kayikunmi Kayode-Ajulo Memorial Foundation for child-safety advocacy. He also funds Egalitarian Mission Africa (human rights) and Sure Steps Africa (infant health).
Personal life
Ajulo is married with children. A devout Anglican, he mentors thousands of young lawyers and gifts gowns to new wigs. He lost his mother, Princess Christiana Monisola Ajulo, at 90 in March 2025.
Controversies
In April 2025 youth groups accused Ajulo of ordering the remand of three Akoko Youth Forum executives after a heated office meeting. Protests erupted in Akure; Ajulo denied wrongdoing, insisting the youths apologise for “disgraceful conduct”.
Awards and honours
- Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON)
- Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN, 2023)
- Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
- Mayegun Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland
- Bamofinlewe of Akure Kingdom
References
- Wikipedia: Kayode Ajulo
- Ondo State Government: AG’s 8-Point Agenda (2024)
- Vanguard: Ajulo appoints 273 advisers (Apr 2024)
- Punch: Anti-Land Grabbing Law signed (Jan 2025)
- Daily Post: Youth protest remand order (Apr 2025)
- Tribune: Legal alchemist profile (May 2025)
- THISDAY: Tribute to mother @90 (Mar 2025)
- New Telegraph: Probe into Akungba truck crash (Oct 2025)