Gunmen have shot dead the presiding President of Ejemekwuru Customary Court in the Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State, Nnaemeka Ugboma.
The gunmen ambushed the court president, dragged him out of the courtroom while the Court was in session, and shot him dead at a close range.
Newsmen gathered that the gunmen, who came on motorbikes, shot sporadically as the people fled the scene.
The killing of the jurist resulted in pandemonium as litigants, court staff, and even residents fled in different directions.
A source said the slain magistrate was a law graduate of the 1991 set and hailed from the Nnebukwu community in the Oguta Local Government Area of the state.
“He was killed while presiding over a court session by some gunmen who operated on motorcycles. Nobody knew they were killers,” the source said.
Another witness said: “The jurist was killed in his court while sitting. His killers came with motorcycles. They came into the court, dragged him out, shot him dead, and drove off.
”His corpse was there as people in court fled. The whole thing is confusing because nobody knew any reason they killed him.
“He was from the Nnebukwu community in Oguta LGA.”
President of Customary Court, Ihiagwa, Emperor Iwuala who confirmed the killing to The Nation correspondent yesterday, wrote: “My learned brother, His Worship Nnaemeka Ugboma, Chairman of the Customary Court Ejemekwuru, Oguta LGA, Imo State, was shot dead yesterday (Thursday) in court by yet-to-be identified persons. We are indeed in perilous times.
“We have vowed not to sit until the whole issue is resolved.”
When contacted, the chairman of the Owerri Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ugochukwu Allinor, who confirmed the incident, described the event as “an unfortunate situation.”
He said: “It is an unfortunate situation. A jurist that is carrying out his legitimate duty would just be mowed down in broad daylight brazenly and the person will just work away like that. It then means nobody is safe.
“We totally condemn it. It is never heard of, and if we continue like this, we are heading to anarchy where a sitting jurist is attacked in his court and brought down. There is a problem.”
The spokesperson for the Police in the state, Henry Okoye, said: “On 02/02/2023, at about 1245hrs, about five armed gunmen stormed Ejemekuru Customary Court in Oguta LGA of Imo State, shot the customary court president, Nnemeka Ugboma ‘m’ from Oguta LGA and dumped his corpse at the back of the court building. The corpse has been recovered and deposited at the mortuary.
“Investigation is ongoing. Tactical teams have been deployed to the area to track down the assailants, apprehend them, and brought to face the full wrath of the law.”
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")