Wale Igbintade

A group of prominent lawyers and human rights advocates has asked the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to demand the removal from the Anambra State Executive Council of a cabinet member they identified as a suspect in the 2002 murder of former NBA Onitsha Branch Chairman, Barnabas Chidi Igwe, and his pregnant wife, Amaka Abigail Igwe.

The lawyers, in a letter dated September 11, 2026, urged the NBA President to prevail on the Inspector-General of Police to reopen investigation into the 24-year-old murder case and pursue the effective prosecution of those responsible, while asking Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, to publish the report of the state’s Truth, Justice and Peace Commission (TJPC) on the matter.

Barnabas Igwe, then Chairman of the NBA Onitsha Branch, and his wife, Amaka, also a lawyer and his chambers partner, were killed on September 1, 2002, shortly after returning from the 42nd Annual General Conference of the NBA in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The couple’s three children were orphaned by the killings.

The lawyers said their renewed intervention was necessary because the case, despite the NBA’s vigorous efforts following the murders, had never been brought to a conclusion.

According to them, the NBA leadership at the time responded immediately to the killings, with the then NBA President, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, convening an emergency meeting of national officers on September 2, 2002, followed by a public briefing.

They said Olanipekun subsequently led a delegation of NBA leaders to the then Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, on September 11, 2002, to demand diligent investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators.

A formal letter was also sent to the IGP on September 20, while lawyers nationwide observed September 18, 2002, as a National Day of Mourning in honour of the slain couple.

The lawyers further recalled that the NBA leadership took the matter to the Presidential Villa in November 2002, where it renewed its demand for justice and sought the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into the assassinations of former Attorney-General of the Federation, Bola Ige, and the Igwe couple.

They said the NBA, with the support of its National Executive Committee, subsequently established a Trust Fund for the three children of Barnabas and Amaka.

However, the lawyers expressed concern that little had been heard about the Endowment Fund for about 15 years and asked the NBA President to provide an update on its status.

They noted that the three surviving children had since graduated and that at least one of them was now a member of the NBA.

The lawyers said the NBA Onitsha Branch had also been granted a fiat to prosecute the 11 suspects originally arraigned before the High Court of Anambra State, Onitsha, in Charge No. O/60C/2003, The State v. Francis Nzekwe (alias Francis Nzewi Ibekwe) and 10 others.

They alleged, however, that the prosecution was never concluded after a succession of judges recused themselves from the matter, citing political interference and intimidation.

The group further claimed that records of the case were reportedly unavailable from either the High Court of Anambra State or the State Ministry of Justice.

The lawyers said the establishment of the Anambra State Truth, Justice and Peace Commission in June 2022 offered an opportunity to revisit the circumstances surrounding the murders.

The Commission established to examine the crisis of violence in the South-east, particularly Anambra State, with a mandate dating back to 1999, was chaired by prominent lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu.

Its secretary was Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, while other lawyers on the Commission included the then Anambra State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Sylvia Ifemeje, and Prof. Uju Agomoh, the current Chairman of the NBA’s Section on Public Interest and Development Law.

The lawyers said the TJPC reviewed the facts and developments surrounding the Igwe murders and made recommendations to Governor Soludo, who had reportedly promised to implement them.

They said the Commission reportedly recommended a review of the prosecution of the case and effective accountability against Kenneth Okwuchukwu Emeakayi, whom they described as an identified suspect in the murders.

According to the letter, Emeakayi was Commissioner for Works in the cabinet of the Anambra State Government at the time of the killings.

The lawyers expressed concern that after the TJPC submitted its report in October 2024, Governor Soludo appointed Emeakayi to his cabinet and assigned him responsibility for security in the state.

The group acknowledged that suspicion or arraignment did not constitute proof of guilt but said the appointment had left them bewildered and concerned about the prospects of securing accountability in the case.

“We understand that suspicion or arraignment is not proof,” they said, adding that the development could “further diminish the possibility of achieving accountability in this case.”

The lawyers also expressed concern that the NBA Onitsha Branch and other NBA branches in Anambra State had been unable to lead renewed efforts to pursue the matter, citing what they described as the prevailing climate of fear in the state.

They consequently urged the NBA President to make the case a priority of her administration, arguing that it touches directly on the Association’s commitment to the rule of law and the safety and well-being of its members.

Specifically, they asked the NBA President to request Governor Soludo to publish the TJPC report, or the portion relating to the murders of Barnabas and Amaka Igwe.

They also urged her to request the Inspector-General of Police to reopen investigation into the case, with a view to the effective prosecution of the perpetrators.

The lawyers further asked the NBA President to request the withdrawal of Emeakayi’s appointment to the Anambra State cabinet, provide an update on the Trust Fund established for the couple’s children and offer renewed commitment to relevant authorities towards an independent review of the records in the case.

They also called for the matter to be brought to the attention of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Lawyers and Judges.

The lawyers said the NBA’s responsibility to the memory of Barnabas and Amaka Igwe and their children should continue until accountability was achieved.

They assured the NBA President of their readiness to support any measures required to secure accountability and a final resolution of the case.

The letter was signed by former NBA National Publicity Secretary, Olukunle Edun, SAN; former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu; former NBA First National Vice-President, John Aikpokpo Martins; former National President of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Malachy Ugwummadu; former Chairman of the NBA Abuja Branch, Bulus Atsen; Executive Director of Global Rights, Abiodun Baiyewu; former Chairman of the NBA Ikorodu Branch, Adebayo Akinlade; Stanley Ibe of HURIDOCS; Chief Executive Officer of House of Justice, Gloria Mabeiam Ballason; and Executive Director of The Anah Centre for Social Justice, Adaeze Anah.

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