Lawyers Ask NBA to Demand Removal of Soludo’s Aide Over 2002 Igwe Murder
A group of prominent lawyers and human rights advocates has called on the President of the Nigerian Bar Association to demand the removal of an Anambra State 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 made the demand in a letter dated September 11, 2026, urging the NBA President to ask the Inspector General of Police to reopen investigations into the 24 year old case and ensure that those responsible are effectively prosecuted.
They also called on Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, to make public the report of the state’s Truth, Justice and Peace Commission concerning the killings.
Barnabas Igwe, who was 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.
Their deaths left the couple’s three children without their parents and sparked widespread condemnation within the legal profession.
The lawyers said their renewed intervention was prompted by the fact that, despite extensive efforts by the NBA after the killings, the case had never reached a satisfactory conclusion.
They recalled that the NBA responded swiftly after the murders. The then NBA President, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, convened an emergency meeting of national officers on September 2, 2002, followed by a public briefing on the matter.
Olanipekun later led a delegation of NBA officials to meet the then Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on September 11, 2002, where they demanded a thorough investigation and prosecution of those responsible.
The NBA also wrote formally to the IGP on September 20, while lawyers across the country observed September 18, 2002, as a National Day of Mourning in honour of the slain couple.
In November that year, the NBA took the matter to the Presidential Villa, where it renewed its call for justice and sought the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into the assassinations of former Attorney General of the Federation, Bola Ige, as well as Barnabas and Amaka Igwe.
The lawyers also recalled that the NBA, with the backing of its National Executive Committee, established a Trust Fund for the couple’s three children.
However, they expressed concern that little information had been made available about the Endowment Fund for nearly 15 years and asked the NBA President to provide an update on its current status.
According to the group, the three children have since graduated, with at least one of them becoming a member of the NBA.
The lawyers further stated that the NBA Onitsha Branch had obtained a fiat to prosecute 11 suspects who were originally arraigned before the High Court of Anambra State, Onitsha, in Charge No. O/60C/2003, The State v. Francis Nzekwe, also known as Francis Nzewi Ibekwe, and 10 others.
They alleged that the prosecution was never completed after a succession of judges recused themselves from the case, citing political interference and intimidation.
The group also claimed that records relating to the case were reportedly no longer available at 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 created another opportunity to revisit the circumstances surrounding the murders.
The commission was established to examine the history and causes of violence in the South East, particularly Anambra State, with its mandate covering developments dating back to 1999. It 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 members included the then Anambra State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Sylvia Ifemeje, and Prof. Uju Agomoh, who is currently Chairman of the NBA’s Section on Public Interest and Development Law.
The lawyers said the commission reviewed the facts and developments surrounding the Igwe murders and submitted recommendations to Governor Soludo, who had reportedly expressed a commitment to implementing them.
According to the group, the commission recommended a review of the prosecution of the case and effective accountability measures against Kenneth Okwuchukwu Emeakayi, whom they described as an identified suspect in the killings.
The letter stated that Emeakayi was serving as Commissioner for Works in the Anambra State Government at the time of the murders.
The lawyers expressed concern that after the commission submitted its report in October 2024, Governor Soludo appointed Emeakayi to his cabinet and gave him responsibility for security in the state.
The group acknowledged that being suspected or arraigned in a criminal case does not amount to proof of guilt. However, it said the appointment had raised serious concerns about the prospects of achieving accountability in the long running case.
“We understand that suspicion or arraignment is not proof,” the lawyers said, adding that the development could “further diminish the possibility of achieving accountability in this case.”
They also expressed concern that the NBA Onitsha Branch and other branches of the association in Anambra State had been unable to renew efforts to pursue the case, citing what they described as a prevailing climate of fear in the state.
The lawyers therefore urged the NBA President to make the matter a priority of her administration, arguing that the case directly concerns the association’s commitment to the rule of law and the safety and welfare of its members.
Among their requests, they asked the NBA President to prevail on Governor Soludo to publish the full TJPC report or, at the least, the section dealing with the murders of Barnabas and Amaka Igwe.
They also urged her to ask the Inspector General of Police to reopen the investigation with a view to bringing those responsible to justice through effective prosecution.
The group further called for Emeakayi’s appointment to the Anambra State cabinet to be withdrawn, while asking the NBA to provide an update on the Trust Fund established for the couple’s children.
They also requested renewed engagement with the relevant authorities towards an independent review of the available records in the case.
The lawyers called for the matter to be brought to the attention of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Lawyers and Judges.
They said the NBA’s responsibility to the memory of Barnabas and Amaka Igwe, as well as their children, should continue until the matter is properly resolved and accountability is achieved.
The group assured the NBA President of its readiness to support any steps considered necessary to pursue accountability and bring the 24 year old case to a final resolution.
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.
