Chidiebube Okeoma, Owerri
Lawyers in Imo State on Tuesday protested across major streets of Owerri, the state capital, the killing of the magistrate in charge of Ejemekwuru Customary Court in the Oguta Local Government Area of the state, Nnaemeka Ugboma.
Marching from the Bar Centre on the Owerri-Orlu Road in Owerri, the lawyers dressed in black attire, carrying a banner and placards with various inscriptions conveying their message.
The chairman of the Owerri Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ugochukwu Alinor, in company with four other branch chairmen of the NBA in the state, condemned Ugboma’s killing.
Alinor said that the protest was to make the security agents in the state to live up to their responsibilities in protecting lives and property in the state.
He called on the government to provide adequate security arrangements within the court premises and for all the courts in the state to be fenced.
Alinor called on the police to swiftly apprehend the killers of the judge as well as those who beheaded the Sole Administrator of Ideato North Local Government Area, Chris Ohizu.
Another lawyer, Chuks Agbugba, said the the murder of the jurist was a threat to justice dispensation in the state.
He called on the police to leave ” Yahoo boys” and concentratt on the core security issue of protesting lives and property.
Another lawyer, Tony Ephraim, who spoke to journalists at the entrance of the state Police Command headquarters, decried what he called the constant killing of lawyers in the state.
Ephraim said, “We are here to protest the constant killing of lawyers in Imo State and attack on court facilities. The other time, a former chairman of the bar was killed in his office. A lawyer was also killed in Orlu and now we are talking about the killing of a magistrate in his court.”
Adding his voice, Emeka Ihejirika said that he and the other lawyers would not leave the venue until the state Commissioner of Police addressed them.
The lawyers were still awaiting the arrival of the state Police Commissioner to address them as of the time of filing this report.
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