Crime

The Plight Of Nigeria’s Judges And Lawyers Risking Their Lives Daily.

Published

4 years ago

December 18, 2022

To thrive in Nigeria’s legal profession these days, practitioners and judges must be skilled in the martial arts, have Olympian-level foot speed, be proficient with weapons, and have extensive training in subterfuge.

Regrettably, these are not included in the Nigerian Law School curriculum or in judicial orientation.

....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Even with these talents bolstered by a wing and a prayer, becoming involved in the legal process in Nigeria today is often perilous.

In August 2015, Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS) announced that they had apprehended members of a kidnapping syndicate who were planning to kidnap judges sitting on election petitions in Owerri, Imo state’s capital. They identified the syndicate’s boss as Chibueze Henry, who operated under the pseudonym Vampire.

Charges were filed against Vampire and his crew, and their trial commenced the following year in Owerri.

The High Court in Owerri now occupies a prominent piece of real estate, within shouting distance of the State Governor’s office and the headquarters of the Imo State Police Command.

Gates control access to the premises, which are managed by security personnel who are public officials.

The trial of Vampire and his gang was set to resume in one of these facilities’ courtrooms on the morning of January 27, 2017.

As officials from the Nigeria Prison Service (as it was then known) drove into the court grounds, a black Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) at the back of the convoy rushed past them before coming to a complete halt.

A swarm of men armed with assault rifles descended from the SUV and began shooting indiscriminately.

As judges, court employees, lawyers, and court users fled , the attackers freed Vampire and up to 29 other captives.

The incident killed at least two people and injured many more.

For more than a decade, Imo State, where this incident occurred, has been a hotbed of targeted violence against judges and lawyers.

In March 2011, the state’s high court justices went on strike to protest the kidnapping of one of their colleagues, Theophilus Nzekwe.

Ambrose Egu, the president of the state’s Customary Court of Appeal, and senior Magistrate Pauline Njemanze were abducted on official business near the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport near Owerri a year ago.

Magistrate and court inspector, Oderachukwu Onumajulu, was not so lucky. As a child, Odera always desired to be a judge. In 2016, she climbed the first rung in her ambition when she was admitted to the Nigerian Bar. Three years later, she became a Magistrate in Imo State. On 22 May, 2021, unidentified men shot and abducted Odera at the Customary Court of Appeal in Owerri, where she worked as courts inspector. One month later, in June 2022, she died from her injuries.

Odera was the second judicial figure to be killed in line of duty in the state in as many years. On 23 November, 2018, a body found dumped along Amucha Road in Njaba Local Government Area (LGA) in Orlu Zone, Imo State, was identified as the remains of Remi Ogu, a Chief Magistrate in the neighbouring Oru LGA.
Remi and his court registrar, Uju Nwanne, were abducted the previous day from their duty post. In March 2019, the police in the state paraded one Friday Nnaekezie, who claimed that he masterminded the abduction and killing of the Chief Magistrate.

Orlu zone, where Remi was killed, has become the epicentre of mass atrocities committed in the name of agitation.

Three months before Remi’s murder, in August 2018, unidentified men incinerated the High Court and Magistrate’s court buildings in the city with all their records and archives.They returned four years later, on December 17, 2022, to complete their evil act.

Darlington Odume, who became a lawyer in 2016, was one of the more outspoken voices at the Orlu Bar.

The people revered him for his fighting skills, comparing him to a lion.

They dubbed him “Omekagu” as a result.

Unidentified gunmen assassinated Omekagu in mid-September 2021, while he was out shopping for food for his family in Orlu. He was married to a policewoman in a city where being linked with one had become perilous.

The year 2021 was exceptionally disastrous for lawyers across the country.

A month after Omekagu’s murder in Orlu, Ajah Ogbonna Ajah and another of his colleagues, both lawyers, were assassinated on the road on their way to court in Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State in south-east Nigeria, by unidentified gunmen.

They were far from the only victims in the region or during the year.

Stanley Nnaji, a former High Court judge, was slain on the streets of Enugu State in May by unknown Gunmen.

In November 2021, seven unidentified guys macheted Kenechukwu Okeke to death in Nkpor, Anambra State.

They murdered him in front of his wife and young daughter.

Okeke, a lawyer, had been vocal in his support for Nigeria’s government ban on Twitter.

These killings of lawyers, magistrates, and judges were not limited to South-East Nigeria. On 17 February, 2021, gunmen shot and killed Nkiru Agbasu, a pregnant lawyer, along the Warri-Sapele Road in Delta State.

As in Imo State, Nkiru died in a state with a record of no consequences for the killing of lawyers. In March 2014, unidentified gunmen reportedly dressed in police uniforms assassinated two lawyers, Eguno Dafiaghor and Samuel Ekuwangi on the Azoro-Asaba motorway in Delta State. It was widely suspected that they “were murdered as a result of the high profile case they were handling at the High Court, Ozoro.”

A little more than a year later, in April 2015, unidentified men assassinated the chair of the Nigerian Bar Association in Ughelli, Austin Icheghe, at his home in front of his family, with no repercussions.

Insecurity among lawyers in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital, is also explained by impunity.

Police discovered the mangled remains of Ijeoma Micah in her law office in affluent Maitama, Abuja, in October 2013.

She’d been gone for three days.

Seven years later, another lawyer, Ben Okpe, was assassinated outside his house in Karu, near Abuja.

Terrorists hijacking the Abuja-Kaduna train killed Farida Sule Mohammed, a young Abuja lawyer, in March 2022. She was 29 years old.

Suleiman Zailani was assassinated in August, and Sadiq Gaya in September. At the end of November, unidentified gunmen in the Federal Capital assassinated senior lawyer, Steven Eke, in the presence of his wife and son.

Feyitayo Obot was assassinated in her hotel room at the end of January 2019 while on professional business in Lagos; about two months after the shooting of Adeshina Adeola on the outskirts of Abuja in the week of his admission to the Nigerian Bar in November 2018.

The murders and kidnappings of lawyers and judges described here are only a small part of the story.

They are distinct in three ways.

For starters, the criminals almost always get away with it.

Second, any society that tolerates such attacks on its courts, judges, and lawyers is a lawless society.

Third, the NBA does not currently have a dedicated program in place to ensure accountability for these attacks on lawyers and judges.

Crime

Woman poisons Her Co-wife’s Two Children In Niger State, One Passes Away

Published

5 days ago

November 8, 2026

NivoNews

The Niger State Police Command has arrested a woman identified as Mariya Abdullahi over the alleged poisoning of her co-wife’s two children.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The incident reportedly occurred on Friday, November 6, 2026, in Takuti community, Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State.

The victims, aged four and nine, were said to have consumed a substance suspected to be poisonous from a cup allegedly given to them by Abdullahi.

One of the children reportedly died shortly after drinking the substance, while the other was rushed to a general hospital, where she is currently receiving treatment.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Saturday.

According to Abiodun, the suspect allegedly confessed to the crime, claiming that a friend influenced her to poison the children because she could not have a child for her husband.

The police statement read: “On 6th November, 2026 at about 6am, a report was received in Lapai Div that one Mariya Abdullahi of Takuti via Lapai administered some substance suspected to be poison to the children of her co-wife.

“The Police operatives moved to the scene, discovered the two children who were 9 & 4yrs, were given the substance to drink, and as a result, they became unconscious.

“They were immediately rushed to a nearby clinic, but on arrival at the clinic, one of the victims gave up the ghost and the other was referred to the general hospital responding to the treatment.

“The suspect was arrested, undergoing further interrogation. She claimed that she was influenced by a friend to commit the act because she couldn’t bear a child for the husband.

“She will soon be transferred to SCID Minna for diligent prosecution.”

The command added that Abdullahi would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Minna for further investigation and prosecution.

Crime

‘Please Forgive Us’ – Suspects in Corps Members’ Abduction Plead For Mercy.

Published

7 days ago

November 6, 2026

NivoNews

Two men standing trial over the abduction of 20 prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Imo State have admitted that they voluntarily made the written and recorded confessional statements presented by the Department of State Services (DSS).....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The defendants, Usman Aliyu and Babangida Aliyu, who are the first and second accused persons, made the admission on Thursday during cross-examination at the resumed hearing of the case.

Both men confirmed that they willingly gave the audio-visual statements and thumbprinted the written confessions in the presence of their lawyers.

The DSS had tendered the statements as evidence, and the court admitted them during the proceedings.

Despite confirming the statements, the defendants appealed to the court for forgiveness and asked to be released. They had earlier made a similar plea while opening their defence and giving evidence on their own behalf.

The two men are facing charges bordering on conspiracy, hostage-taking and unlawful possession of firearms over the alleged abduction.

Meanwhile, proceedings also continued in a separate case involving two defendants accused of conspiracy, kidnapping and unlawful possession of firearms.

During the hearing, a prosecution witness identified the defendants as the individuals who allegedly abducted him for ransom in Imo State on October 4, 2026.

At the end of Thursday’s proceedings, Justice Emeka Orafu adjourned both cases until November 6 for further hearing.

Crime

BREAKING: FBI Nabs Six Most-Wanted Fraud Suspects In Major International Crackdown.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 26, 2026

NivoNews

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested six individuals on its most-wanted fraudsters list following operations conducted across four continents.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The suspects were apprehended over allegations involving various fraudulent activities, according to FBI Director Kash Patel, who announced the development in a post on X on Sunday.

Patel disclosed that the arrests, alongside other enforcement operations, contributed to the seizure of assets worth approximately $17 billion.

He praised the FBI’s international fugitive-tracking efforts and its ongoing campaign against global scam centres, known as Operation Blackout.

According to the FBI director, the six fugitives had collectively spent more than 4,000 days evading arrest.

Patel said the suspects had apparently believed that leaving the United States and going into hiding abroad would place them beyond the reach of American law enforcement authorities.

“They were wrong,” he wrote, stressing that the FBI and its international partners would continue pursuing individuals accused of defrauding Americans, regardless of where they attempted to hide.

In a separate update on Operation Blackout, Patel revealed that the broader campaign had resulted in the seizure of nearly $17 billion, the arrest of hundreds of suspected fraudsters and the rescue of thousands of trafficked workers.

The operation has also involved raids on suspected scam centres, the disruption of online infrastructure used to facilitate fraudulent activities and efforts to identify individuals trafficked into working for criminal networks.

Patel further disclosed that more than 10,000 Americans had received warnings before losing their money, helping to prevent estimated financial losses of about $670 million.

“We’re not just investigating these criminal enterprises.

“We’re dismantling their networks, disrupting their finances, rescuing victims, and holding those responsible accountable,” he said.

The FBI director described the scam centres as criminal enterprises that exploit vulnerable individuals while targeting Americans through international fraud schemes.

He maintained that the agency would continue its efforts to bring those responsible to justice.

“To every criminal organization targeting Americans: Justice will find you,” Patel added.

Full List Of The Six Arrested Suspects

According to the FBI, the individuals arrested are: