Kenneth Keazor
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Kola Abiola Keazor is a Nigerian lawyer
and jurist
, was born in Lagos
(Nigeria) on the 12th of April 1935 to Eugene Akosa Keazor
and Anne Abiola Keazor. His father, Eugene, was a senior police officer who retired as a Commissioner of Police in Colonial Nigeria in 1964 - one of the most senior African policemen of his time.
Kenneth Keazor studied Law at the University of London
and was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn
in 1962. He met and married his wife Victoria in October 1960. He returned to Nigeria in 1963, where he joined the Ministry of Justice
in the Eastern Region
of Nigeria, until 1967 when the Nigerian Civil War
broke out and he joined the Biafran Army, rising to the rank of major.
His frank and outspoken nature as well as his in-depth knowledge of military history and strategy did not go down well with the Biafran authorities, and neither did his mixed parentage (his mother was a Yoruba from Nigeria). Alongside Majors Banjo and Ademoyega (his close friends and also of Yoruba origin) Keazor was dubiously charged with treason and put on trial. While Banjo was executed by the Biafran authorities, Keazor narrowly escaped execution after a kangaroo trial, after having been freed by a courageous Biafran Guard soldier- outraged by his treatment by the Biafran authorities- by walking over 80 miles in the bush, to locate his young family. He then crossed to the Nigerian side of the conflict and returned to Lagos, the capital, in 1969.
Keazor joined the Nigerian Board of Inland Revenue as a legal adviser in 1969, and then the Ministry of Justice as Principal State Counsel. He worked in the Nigerian Civil Service in several capacities but most notably as counsel to the Government of Nigeria in the massive joint venture Warri Refinery project. He retired from the Federal Civil Service as Deputy Solicitor Generalm and joined Cadbury PLC as legal counsel and company secretary In 1981. He returned to Public service with his appointment as Attorney-General of Anambra State in 1988. He was later appointed a Justice of the State High Court in 1989, a position he retained till his second retirement in 1990.
Keazor was also a Pioneer Course member of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Nigeria in 1979 - The country's high-level think tank on National Policy, whose membership has produced three of Nigeria's heads of state. His course papers on a foreign policy strategy for Cuba by African countries, and a proposed missile policy for Nigeria, remain important reference works for state policy in Africa. He remains active in the Alumni Association of this body, having variously occupied the positions of Secretary-General and Regional Chairman.
Generally regarded as a being of high moral integrity by his peers, Keazor has remained active after retirement, acting as Chairman of an election tribunal in 1991 and he currently acts as Chairman of an investigative panel into fraudulent contracts awarded by the previous Anambra State administration.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
, was born in Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
(Nigeria) on the 12th of April 1935 to Eugene Akosa Keazor
Eugene Keazor
Eugene Akosa Keazor CPM was a Nigerian police officer. From 1959 until Nigeria's independence the next year he held the most senior police rank ever held by an African in the British colony, retiring in 1964...
and Anne Abiola Keazor. His father, Eugene, was a senior police officer who retired as a Commissioner of Police in Colonial Nigeria in 1964 - one of the most senior African policemen of his time.
Kenneth Keazor studied Law at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
in 1962. He met and married his wife Victoria in October 1960. He returned to Nigeria in 1963, where he joined the Ministry of Justice
Nigerian Federal Ministry of Justice
The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Justice is the legal arm of the Federal Government of Nigeria, primarily concerned with bringing cases before the judiciary that are initiated or assumed by the government. It is headed by the Attorney General, who is also Minister of Justice...
in the Eastern Region
Eastern Region, Nigeria
The Eastern Region was one of Nigeria's federal divisions, dating back originally from the division of the colony Southern Nigeria in 1954. Its capital was Enugu. The region was official divided in 1967 into three new states, East-Central State, Rivers State and South-Eastern State...
of Nigeria, until 1967 when the Nigerian Civil War
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967–15 January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra...
broke out and he joined the Biafran Army, rising to the rank of major.
His frank and outspoken nature as well as his in-depth knowledge of military history and strategy did not go down well with the Biafran authorities, and neither did his mixed parentage (his mother was a Yoruba from Nigeria). Alongside Majors Banjo and Ademoyega (his close friends and also of Yoruba origin) Keazor was dubiously charged with treason and put on trial. While Banjo was executed by the Biafran authorities, Keazor narrowly escaped execution after a kangaroo trial, after having been freed by a courageous Biafran Guard soldier- outraged by his treatment by the Biafran authorities- by walking over 80 miles in the bush, to locate his young family. He then crossed to the Nigerian side of the conflict and returned to Lagos, the capital, in 1969.
Keazor joined the Nigerian Board of Inland Revenue as a legal adviser in 1969, and then the Ministry of Justice as Principal State Counsel. He worked in the Nigerian Civil Service in several capacities but most notably as counsel to the Government of Nigeria in the massive joint venture Warri Refinery project. He retired from the Federal Civil Service as Deputy Solicitor Generalm and joined Cadbury PLC as legal counsel and company secretary In 1981. He returned to Public service with his appointment as Attorney-General of Anambra State in 1988. He was later appointed a Justice of the State High Court in 1989, a position he retained till his second retirement in 1990.
Keazor was also a Pioneer Course member of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Nigeria in 1979 - The country's high-level think tank on National Policy, whose membership has produced three of Nigeria's heads of state. His course papers on a foreign policy strategy for Cuba by African countries, and a proposed missile policy for Nigeria, remain important reference works for state policy in Africa. He remains active in the Alumni Association of this body, having variously occupied the positions of Secretary-General and Regional Chairman.
Generally regarded as a being of high moral integrity by his peers, Keazor has remained active after retirement, acting as Chairman of an election tribunal in 1991 and he currently acts as Chairman of an investigative panel into fraudulent contracts awarded by the previous Anambra State administration.