Professor Abdulfatai Oladapo Sambo attended Hali Nursery and Primary School, Kaduna between 1985 and 1990. He attended Government Secondary School, Ilorin (1991-1997). He gained admission to study Common and Islamic Law (Direct Entry) in the year 2000 and graduated with Second Class (Upper Division) in the year 2004. He attended the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Nigerian Bar in the Year 2006 after also graduating with Second Class Honours (Upper Division). He completed his Master’s Degree in the University of Ilorin in the Year 2010. His passion for knowledge and research took him to the prestigious International Islamic University, Malaysia, where he bagged his Ph.D. (Law) in April 2013. He immediately started his Postdoctoral Research at the same University and the same was concluded in 2014.
Professor Sambo joined the great University of Ilorin on the 26th of February 2008 as an Assistant Lecturer and rose through the ranks to become a professor in 2022. In different capacities, he has served to fulfil, as an academic, the tripartite mandate of research, teaching, and community service. In terms of research, he has about 70 published works to his credit, both locally and internationally. He has acted as a resource person in many Workshops locally and internationally particularly at the Workshop on the Future of Decentralisation: Co-existence and Co-prosperity targeted at the Unification of South and North Korea organised by the Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul & Korea Legislative Research Institute on the 20th of June 2018. He was also one of the resource persons who taught Public International Law at the training organised by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) for South Sudanese judges in Malaysia.
As regards teaching, he has taught courses like constitutional law, criminology, criminal law, legislations, administrative law, local government law, policing, and introduction to constitutional development and organisation of government. He still teaches many of these courses. He teaches these courses to the best of his ability, to the extent that students now call him ‘the walking constitution himself’. Other students describe his as ‘Olu Aiye of Constitutional Law.’ At postgraduate level, he has been teaching Legal Research Methodology and Comparative Constitutional and Administrative Law. He has supervised numerous undergraduate projects, over 30 Master degree dissertations and has supervised to graduation 3 Ph.D. students and currently supervises 7 Ph.D. theses.
Furthermore, Professor Sambo has served/been nominated to serve in various capacities within public law department, Faculty of Law and University of Ilorin at large. Some of these are: Head of Department, Public Law (2022 to Date); Member, University of Ilorin Transcript Task Force Committee; Member, University of Ilorin Strategic Plan 2019-2023 Review Committee; Member, Centre for International Education (2021-Date); Faculty Postgraduate Representative on PGS Board (2016-2018); Postgraduate Coordinator, Common Law (2014-2016); Chairman, Unilorin Law Journal Committee 2023 to Date; Chairman, Faculty of Law Moot Court Committee (2025 to Date); Member University of Ilorin Strategic Committee (2025 to date); Member, Faculty of Law Journal Editorial Board 2015- 2019; Member, GNS Board (2014-2019); Member, Faculty of Science Board, (2010); Member, Rapateur Committee For the International Islamic Conference on Banking And Finance Organized by the Department Of Islamic Law, Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, (2009); Member, Transportation and Tourism Committee for the International Islamic Conference on Banking and Finance Organized by the Department of Islamic Law, Faculty of Law, University Of Ilorin, (2009); Member, Exhibition Committee for the International Islamic Conference on Banking and Finance Organized by the Department of Islamic Law, Faculty Of Law, University of Ilorin, (2009); Member, Committee on 1st M. M.A. Akanbi Faculty of Law Public Lecture, (2009); Exams Coordinator for the Department of Public Law, (2007/2008) to mention but a few. He presented the 278th Inaugural Lecture of the University of Ilorin, titled: Judicialising Politics without Politicising the Judex on the 17th of April 2025.
Professor Abdulfatai Oladapo Sambo is also a Principal Partner in The S & A Law Lounge. He has about 20 (twenty) years experience in active legal practice in diverse areas of law including election matters, human rights issues, dispute resolution, corporate practice, labour disputes, criminal and commercial litigations.
Also, Professor Sambo has granted press interviews in print and electronic media such as NTA, AIT, Channels TV, TVC News, Arise TV, The Guardian, Radio Kwara, Kwara TV, NTA Ilorin, Sobi FM, Albarika FM to mention but a few. He has also been invited guests to many TV stations to discuss matters of national importance, particularly on constitutional law. He was a guest on NTA Tuesday Live’ anchored by that cerebral journalist, Cyril Stober, together with other dignitaries including the present Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia on the alteration of the 1999 Constitution. He has been a guest at Channels TV to discuss constitutional issues surrounding the exit of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria from Office. He has served as INEC Collation Officers at Presidential and National Assembly General Elections, Share IV Ward, 2019; Governorship and Legislative Houses General Elections, Songa III Ward, 2019; House of Assembly, Eke-Ero L.G.A. Re-run Election, 2016; and Badari Ward, Ilorin-west, 2015 General Election.
Prof. Sambo has been invited to deliver numerous public lectures, talks, and he has participated in dialogues at different fora locally, nationally and globally. Constitutional and democratic justice took the centre stage of these discussions. May I cite some examples. He was one of the resource persons at Unilorin Security Summit, 2024;Workshop for Kwara State Magistrates on Small Claims Court, 2024; Workshop for Selected Judges and other Stake-holders on the Implementation of Administration of Criminal Justice Law organised by CLEEN Foundation, with support from the Macarthur Foundation, 2024; Executive Workshop for Elected Councilors and Management Staff of Osun State Local Government Councils, on Osun Local Government Model for Good Governance under the Parliamentary System on Thursday 15th-Friday February 2018. He was one of the three Nigerians sponsored for Global Youth Intensive Programme for Young Constitutional Law Scholars at the 10th World Congress of Constitutional Law, Seoul, South Korea, 23rd of June-29th of June 2018.
He was a resource person at the Workshop on the Future of Decentralisation: Co-existence and Co-prosperity targeted at the Unification of South and North Korea organised by the Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul & Korea Legislative Research Institute on the 20th of June 2018. He was also one of the resource persons who taught Public International Law at the training organised by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) for South Sudanese judges in Malaysia.
He has attended and presented papers in many local and international conferences including the 10th World Congress of Constitutional Law Scholars held in June 2018 at South Korea and the 11th World Congress of Constitutional Law Scholars held in University of Johannesburg, South Africa from 5-9 December 2022. He is a Member of Human Dignity: A Constitutional Principle Research Group of the International Association of Constitutional Law Scholars.
He is the founder and Executive Director of the Constitutional and Democratic Justice Initiative, an NGO aimed at using the principles of constitutional and democratic justice to encourage the government and others to address developmental issues and the challenges posed to constitutionalism and real democracy as a result of poverty, injustice, corruption, inequality and equity.
He is a Member, Nigerian Bar Association, member, Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria, Member, Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, Member, Nigerian Association of Constitutional Law Scholars, Member, International Association of Constitutional Law Scholars, Chairman, GSS Old Boys Association, 1997 Set, Secretary, Gambari Academic Forum, Member, Human Dignity: A Constitutional Principle Research Group of the International Association of Constitutional Law Scholars. He is happily married to Hajia Aminat Sambo and blessed with children.
