Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo, former senator, ex-governor of Kwara State, and a prominent figure in Nigeria’s pro-democracy movement, has passed away.

Family sources confirmed that Adebayo died early Wednesday morning in Abuja. He was 84 years old.

Born on February 24, 1941, in Igbaja, Kwara State, Adebayo had a distinguished career in public service and political activism. He served as the governor of Kwara in 1983 and was elected senator in 1979 on the platform of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).

Between 2003 and 2006, he served as Minister of Communications, where he oversaw key reforms in the sector.

Adebayo was also a stalwart of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a group of pro-democracy activists that fought to reclaim the mandate of MKO Abiola following the annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election.

In 1993, he famously turned down an offer to serve in the military government of Sani Abacha. Following a 1995 bomb blast in Ilorin, Adebayo was arrested and questioned by police alongside other NADECO members. As the regime intensified its crackdown on dissent, he fled into exile in Canada in 1996.

Adebayo’s life was marked by a consistent commitment to democratic ideals and principled public service.