Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, Sylvanus Adiewere Nsofor died Thursday December 10,  2020 at age 85. (photo: Abdoulaziz Adili Toro)

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, Sylvanus Nsofor has died at the age of 85.  Ambassador Nsofor was said to have died on Thursday night December 10 at a hospital in Maryland in the US.  Nsofor, a retired justice from Nigeria’s Court of Appeal, assumed the office of his country’s ambassador to the US in November 2017.  Nigeria president Muhammadu Buhari  appointed Nsofor as the nation’s top envoy to  America.  It was Nsofor’s first ambassadorial posting.  He was  born March 17, 1935, in Oguta, Imo State, Nigeria. He graduated from Holborn College of Law in London 1962 and later obtained an LL.M from the London School of Economics in 1964.  In 1977, Nsofor was appointed to the judicial bench in Nigeria and served as a judge of the Imo state High Court. He retired in 2005 as a justice on the Court of Appeal of Nigeria.    President Muhammadu Buhari spoke with the family, friends, and associates of the late Nigerian envoy.  According to media reports, the President also called Mrs Jane, the widow of the retired justice in New York on Friday to sympathise with her over the loss of her husband.  President Buhari described Ambassador Nsofor as “an outstanding judge of rare courage and truth who is not afraid to give justice to whom justice is due”.   The U.S. Department of State offered condolences to Ambassador Nsofor: 

“We are saddened by the passing on December 10 of His Excellency Sylvanus Nsofor, Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States, and offer our sincere condolences to his family and all those who worked with him.  Ambassador Nsofor was an important and influential member of the diplomatic community in Washington, D.C. and helped to strengthen our partnerships across the West Africa region. Ambassador Nsofor’s long career in public service, which spanned both the law and diplomacy, was a testament to his dedication to the Nigerian people.  He saw tremendous value in people-to-people connections and fostered a spirit of cooperation across the diplomatic corps.”

-U.S. Department of State 

Ambassador Sylvanus Nsofor and his wife Jane  Nsofor   at the Embassy of Nigeria, Washington D.C.   USA  in 2018.   (credit: nigeriaembassyusa.org)

Ambassador Sylvanus Nsofor and his wife Jane  Nsofor   at the Embassy of Nigeria, Washington D.C.   USA  in 2018.   (credit: nigeriaembassyusa.org)