Estranged wife of a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), Ranti, died in Kaduna on Thursday.

The deceased, a lawyer and former member of the Governing Board of the National Human Rights Commission, was aged 54.

Her first son, Mr. Paul Daudu, who confirmed the incident to our correspondent in a telephone interview on Friday, said she died of a minor stroke.

Married in 1987, the former NBA President and his late wife had been living apart for about three years after the relationship became sour some years ago. He had instituted a divorce suit against his wife, contending that the marriage had broken down irretrievably.

The deceased was defending the divorce suit filed by her husband and was also pursuing her cross-petition against the suit up till the last minute she breathed her last on Thursday. She was said to be with her lawyer in Kaduna on Wednesday preparatory to her giving oral evidence in court with respect to the divorce suit the following day (Thursday) when she suddenly took ill.

She was said to have been rushed to a hospital where her condition deteriorated into a heart attack.

Speaking with our correspondent on Friday, Paul, who is also a lawyer and the first of their six children, said her mother was recovering at the hospital when her condition suddenly worsened again.

He said, “It is very sad. She had a minor stroke. She was recovering but all of a sudden her condition worsened. But we are just waiting for the doctor to confirm the exact cause of the death.”

Meanwhile, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, (SAN), who was the deceased’s lawyer in the pending divorce suit, on Friday, expressed shock over the death. He also expressed sympathy for the family.

Falana, who spoke about the various ties between his family and the deceased’s, also explained how he became involved in the matrimonial suit between the deceased and her husband, pointing out that her death implied that the divorce suit instituted by her husband had been granted.

He said, “She and my wife, Funmi, became close friends when both of them served as members of the National Human Rights Commission. His first son, Paul, and my son, Folarin, are also friends.