Human Rights
Who Is This Pelumi Olajengbesi Sef?
By Emmanuel Adeniran
In Nigerian public life, some names enter the conversation quietly and then suddenly, they are everywhere. You hear them on Arise TV defending a protester, you see them on SaharaReporters blasting the EFCC, you see them on Instagram standing beside Mercy Chinwo or D’banj. That name, for the last five years, has been Pelumi Olajengbesi.
So, who is this Pelumi Olajengbesi sef?
From Ijebu-Jesa to Abuja:
The easy answer on his Wikipedia page says: Pelumi Jacob Olajengbesi, born 12 August 1986 in Zaria, Kaduna State. But his roots are deeply Osun.
He is an indigene of Ijebu-Jesa in Oriade Local Government Area of Osun State, a fact he never lets you forget. He attended Manuwa Memorial Grammar School, Iju Odo and Holy Flocks of Christ Secondary School, Ondo State, then College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti for his NCE before heading to the University of Abuja where he obtained his LL.B.
At UniAbuja, Olajengbesi was not just a student. He was SUG President from 2014 to 2015 and Vice President of the National Association of University Students. By 2016 he was called to the Nigerian Bar at the Lagos Law School campus, and by 2017, at just 31, he co-founded his own firm.
That firm is LAW Corridor, Abuja. Today he sits as its Managing Partner and Senior Partner, and as the Convener of the Coalition of Public Interests Lawyers and Advocates (COPA).
The Nairaland lore about him captures the myth: “the youngest lawyer with biggest law firm” in Abuja at the time. Whether myth or fact, it stuck.
The Human Rights Lawyer:
Olajengbesi built his name not in corporate boardrooms, but on the streets – literally.
He began under Dr. Kayode Ajulo but quickly carved his own lane as a public interest lawyer. If there was a controversial arrest, chances are Law Corridor issued a statement.
Three cases defined him:
- Sunday Igboho: In 2021, he was counsel to Yoruba Nation activists and Sunday Adeyemo (Sunday Igboho) against the Department of State Services, securing the release of aides arrested by the Federal Government.
- Loan Sharks and Gender-Based Violence: He was one of the first lawyers to take on the digital loan sharks harassing Nigerians, and weighed in on the Osinachi Nwachukwu case.
- #EndBadGovernance: In 2024, he wrote to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, demanding the rejection of treason charges against #EndBadGovernance protesters.
That same fire made him a permanent thorn for security agencies. Just this year, he publicly called out the EFCC for “brutalizing a citizen after freely turning himself in”, told the EFCC to audit all officials who served under Buhari, and told acting IGP Tunji Disu to “fix police welfare now”.
His opponents call it grandstanding. His supporters call it courage.
The Celebrity Lawyer:
Then there is the other Pelumi – the “celebrity lawyer.”
Born August 12, 1986, Olajengbesi turned 38 last year amid Instagram tributes from gospel and Afrobeats stars. He is listed as legal representative to names like D’banj, Moses Bliss and Mercy Chinwo.
It is that crossover – courtroom activist in the morning, red-carpet lawyer at night – that confuses people. Is he an activist or an entertainer’s lawyer? He seems to answer: both.
He is also a columnist. His Muck Rack profile shows opinion pieces in Sahara Reporters, TheCable and others, questioning everything from whether a Minister can command a military officer to the state of national security.
The Football Politician:
In September 2022, many were surprised when his name appeared on the NFF electoral list. Pelumi Olajengbesi had been cleared to run for Executive Committee Membership of the Nigeria Football Federation in Benin City.
He was contesting for one of the two South-West slots, alongside established football politicians like Ganiyu Majekodunmi. The pitch was clear: a sports lawyer who had represented clients up to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland bringing legal flair into football administration. He didn’t win, but he announced that law and politics were not his only fields.
The 2027 Ambition:
This is where the story returns home.
Olajengbesi first contested in 2019 to represent Oriade/Obokun Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives under the PDP before stepping down for the party’s consensus candidate.
Now, he is back, and this time he is not stepping down.
In late 2024, the Abuja-based lawyer declared interest in the Oriade/Obokun seat for the 2027 elections, this time as the Accord Party candidate. He has since stepped aside from Law Corridor to focus on politics, a move his partners confirmed.
His message is targeted at one man: Hon. Wole Oke, who has held the Oriade/Obokun seat for 24 years. Olajengbesi says 2027 will mark the end of “recycled leadership and underperformance”, insisting that voters, not entitlement, will decide.
The traditional institution seems to be listening. In Ijesa North, monarchs under the Ijesa North Traditional Rulers’ Council in Oriade LGA endorsed his aspiration. His camp has inaugurated 10,000 canvassers, aligning his structure with Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election drive.
Critics call him Adeleke’s loyalist, a smart young lawyer trying to leapfrog old political structures. Supporters call him the homeboy who made it in Abuja and remembered the road back to Ijebu-Jesa.
So, Who Is He Sef?
Pelumi Olajengbesi is what happens when student unionism, human rights law, Instagram celebrity culture, football politics, and Osun grassroots ambition meet in one person.
He is 38, loud, legally sharp, politically restless, and impossible to ignore. You may not agree with his press statements, you may roll your eyes at his football adventure, you may question his jump from PDP to Accord, but you cannot pretend you have not heard the name.
