Report Indicts Emeakayi Over 2002 Murder of NBA Chairman Barnabas Igwe, Wife

Nearly 24 years after the killing of former Nigerian Bar Association, Onitsha Branch, chairman Barnabas Igwe and his pregnant wife Amaka, the Anambra State Truth, Justice and Peace Commission has named Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s Special Adviser on Community Security, Prince Kenneth Okwuchukwu Emeakayi, as a central figure linked to the attack.

The 14-member commission, chaired by human rights activist Prof Chidi Odinkalu with Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as secretary, submitted its confidential report on March 6, 2024. The report describes the murder of the Igwes as “a continuing violation crying out for remedy” and details allegations of state complicity, stalled prosecutions, and institutional interference.

Despite the indictment, Governor Soludo appointed Emeakayi as Special Adviser on Community Security in October 2024, seven months after receiving the report. Emeakayi was sworn in on October 29, 2024, with responsibility for coordinating local security, intelligence gathering, and community policing. He also heads the “Agunechemba” security outfit. More than two years after the report was submitted, the state government has not implemented its recommendations.

What the report says happened

According to the TJPC report, Barnabas and Amaka Igwe were attacked on September 1, 2002, on Oraifite Street, Onitsha, shortly after returning from the NBA Annual General Conference in Ibadan. The couple were allegedly blocked by armed men, dragged from their vehicle, assaulted with machetes and clubs, and run over with an automobile. Amaka died that night. Barnabas died in the early hours of the next day after reportedly identifying some of his attackers to his elder brother, Vincent Igwe.

The report alleges that the attackers were members of the then state-backed Anambra Vigilante Service. It names Emeakayi, who was Commissioner for Works under former Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju, as the leader of the convoy linked to the attack. Witnesses and police investigators at the time reportedly identified Emeakayi and others, leading to arrests and prosecution that later stalled.

Context of the killings

The commission links the murders to rising tensions between the Mbadinuju administration and the NBA. As chairman of the NBA’s largest branch in the old Eastern Region, Igwe was a vocal critic of unpaid salaries for teachers, judiciary workers, and civil servants. The report says he had issued a 21-day ultimatum to the state government and called for the governor’s resignation if the salary crisis was not resolved. Igwe also criticized the operations of the Bakassi Boys, a vigilante group licensed by the government and accused in the report of intimidation, unlawful detention, and violent attacks.

The report also cites an attack on the then Anambra NLC chairman, Charles Onyeagba, who was reportedly assaulted and had his office burnt after criticizing the government over unpaid wages.

Alleged assault and delayed medical care

The TJPC document alleges that Emeakayi’s convoy blocked the Igwes’ vehicle and that Amaka, thinking she recognized Emeakayi as a client of the family’s law firm, ran toward him for safety. Armed men then dragged the couple out and attacked them. The report says neither died from gunshot wounds but from the physical assault.

It further states that treatment was delayed because hospitals allegedly insisted on a police report before admitting the victims. “It is believed that one or both of Barnabas and Amaka Igwe would have survived if they had been attended to promptly,” the report says.

Stalled investigations and prosecution

The commission alleges that police investigations came under political pressure and that officers who pursued the case suffered career setbacks. It says prosecution was disrupted by judicial transfers, interference, and the disappearance of suspects. One accused later secured bail, raising concerns of executive interference. A 2006 prison break allowed several suspects to escape. Case files reportedly disappeared from courts and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, and some suspects remain at large.

No conviction has been secured in the case. The allegations in the report remain claims documented by the commission.

Impact and recommendations

The report notes that the Igwes left behind three children who were raised by relatives. It argues that the killings had a chilling effect on civic activism, the legal profession, and pressure groups in Anambra during a period of political tension.

Recommendations include a public apology to the family from the state, possible symbolic monetary compensation, renaming Oraifite Road after the couple, and an independent review of the case by a senior lawyer or retired judge to assess accountability.

Response to the appointment

A source familiar with the report told TheNiche: “This is why this is not only annoying but very difficult to defend Governor Chukwuma Soludo. How could he appoint the very man that was indicted as his security aide just two weeks after receiving the report? That was a slap on the 14 members of the Commission. It is a tragedy.”

None of the commission’s recommendations have been implemented to date.