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Lawyer and human rights advocate, Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, has criticised Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s decision to appoint Ken Emeakayi as Special Adviser on Community Security, raising questions over the unresolved allegations surrounding Emeakayi’s alleged involvement in the 2002 murder of lawyer Barnabas Igwe and his pregnant wife, Amaka.
Odinkalu argued that the appointment was difficult to reconcile with the recommendations of the Anambra Truth, Justice and Peace Commission, which he chaired and which investigated the history of violence and insecurity in the South-East.
He recalled that Igwe, who was then Chairman of the Onitsha Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and his pregnant wife were killed in September 2002, shortly after he led the branch in demanding the payment of outstanding salaries owed to judiciary and public service workers in Anambra.
According to Odinkalu, the couple were attacked with guns and machetes on the outskirts of Onitsha after returning from the NBA Annual General Conference in Ibadan.
Emeakayi’s name in murder trial
Odinkalu said the Anambra State Government subsequently commenced criminal proceedings against 11 suspects in connection with the murders in The State v. Francis Nzekwe and 10 Others, Charge No. O/60C/2003.
He said one of the defendants was Emeakayi, who was then serving as Commissioner for Works in the administration of Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju.
Odinkalu said the prosecution of the case encountered several setbacks, including the withdrawal of one of the judges from the matter, its transfer between judicial divisions and the eventual disappearance of relevant records following a prison break in 2006.
He said the case was never concluded.
Truth commission revisited case
Odinkalu said the murder of the Igwes later came within the mandate of the Anambra Truth, Justice and Peace Commission, which Governor Soludo established in 2022 to investigate the causes of violence and unrest in the state.
The commission, whose report was submitted in March 2024, described the double murder as particularly heinous and drew attention to the unfinished prosecution involving Emeakayi.
According to Odinkalu, the commission recommended that the state government review the case to ensure effective accountability. It also recommended an official apology and symbolic compensation for the couple’s children.
He said Soludo, upon receiving the report, promised swift action on its recommendations.
‘Appointment contradicts commission’s recommendation’
Odinkalu, however, said that about six months later, Soludo appointed Emeakayi as his Special Adviser on Community Security.
He said the state government subsequently established the Agunechemba vigilante security outfit, with Emeakayi placed in a leadership role.
The development, he argued, amounted to a contradiction of the commission’s recommendations and raised serious questions about the state government’s approach to accountability and security.
Odinkalu described the situation as an example of “the fox guarding the chicken coop”, arguing that a person whose name had featured prominently in an unresolved murder case should not be placed in charge of community security.
Odinkalu faults Soludo
The lawyer questioned how a person he described as having been credibly suspected of involvement in the killing of a pregnant woman and the orphaning of her children could subsequently be given responsibility for community security.
He said the development was particularly troubling because it involved the same governor who had received the Truth, Justice and Peace Commission’s report and promised to act on its recommendations.
Odinkalu argued that Soludo could not simultaneously complain about insecurity in Anambra and place the security of the state in the hands of a person whose past, in his view, raised serious questions about accountability.
He said the development had created a situation in which fear and silence could prevail over scrutiny of the government’s security policies.
The murder of Barnabas and Amaka Igwe in 2002 occurred during a period of severe insecurity and political tension in Anambra State, when vigilante groups, particularly the Bakassi Boys, operated with significant influence.
The couple’s killing generated widespread outrage within the legal profession and the wider public. The subsequent prosecution of suspects, however, did not produce a final judicial resolution.
More than two decades later, the case was revisited by the Anambra Truth, Justice and Peace Commission as part of its broader investigation into violence in the state.
Odinkalu, who chaired the commission, has now used the unresolved case to question the wisdom of Emeakayi’s subsequent appointment to a position responsible for community security.
He maintained that accountability for past abuses should remain central to the state’s efforts to address insecurity and restore public confidence in its security institutions.
