Author: bibncollar

Yesterday’s Assizes came and went. The dais was full, the Bench was full, the Bar no less. The speeches were earnest, and the air carried a renewed joy; that quiet we-have-got-back-our-judiciary feeling. The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Owerri, Chief Chris Ihentuge, spoke with candour and courage, urging the repeal of a law that, by design or neglect, shrinks the space of judicial independence and hands the mechanics of case assignment to an office that ought not to perform them. That appeal was not a parochial outcry; it was a constitutional entreaty. He highlighted the problems in the Imo…

— Calls It an Affront to Judicial Independence, Demands Restoration of Constitutional Order The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Owerri Branch, Chief Chris Ihentuge, KSM, has called on the Imo State House of Assembly to immediately repeal the controversial High Court (Amendment) Law 2022, describing it as a grave threat to judicial independence and a clear violation of the Constitution. Speaking at the Special High Court Session marking the commencement of the 2025/2026 Legal Year of the Imo State Judiciary yesterday October 30, 2025, Chief Ihentuge decried what he termed a “curious and unconstitutional provision” in Section 42(2)…

Good afternoon and happy new week, Your Excellency. I have just returned from my 28-day advanced training at the Owerri Prisons [pardon me, the Correctional Centre] on Tuesday, 21st October 2025. I must thank Your Excellency most sincerely for that profound opportunity for intense learning and civic exposure. That remarkable period of confinement also served as a classroom for the entire Nigerian legal community, where a new doctrine emerged — The Njemanzery Doctrine, — a bold reinvention of remand jurisprudence under which adjournments may now exceed the statutory 14 days prescribed by the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Imo…

I have just read with keen interest the news report announcing that U.S. President Donald Trump has approved a massive increase in visa fees for skilled workers entering the United States, raising the cost by $100,000 (about ₦150 million). While many may react with outrage or despair, I see in this decision an opportunity for sober reflection, especially for Nigerians. For too long, many of our citizens have adopted “japa” (mass emigration) as the most attractive response to the challenges of governance, insecurity, unemployment, and systemic failure at home. Understandably, people want better lives. But mass exodus is not, and…

Marking his 45th birthday, the celebrant reaffirmed his commitment to living authentically and purposefully. In a reflective note, he expressed gratitude for the journey so far, pride in the person he has become, and excitement for the road ahead. “Today, I renew my commitment to living a life that is true to who I am. I am grateful for the journey and proud of the life I have built. At 45, I am not just getting older, I am getting wiser and stronger,” he declared. Celebrating the milestone, he described the age not as a slowing down but as a…

It is no longer news that on Wednesday, 17 September 2025, I honoured the invitation by the X-Squad Unit of the Police over allegations of “Criminal Defamation of the Governor of Imo State” and “conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace.” This account is not intended to sensationalize the matter, but rather to lay bare certain uncomfortable truths which I am prepared to stand by, as they are rooted in incontrovertible facts. I shall set out these facts under three clear points: 1. The petition against me was directly initiated by the Imo State Ministry of Information. 2.…

The barrage of rejoinders churned out by Government House media handlers against the reflections of public-interest lawyer, Chinedu Agu, Esq., has now taken a dramatic turn. Barely days after Agu published his widely-circulated article, “Tears from Enugu: A Lawyer’s Heartbreaking Diary from a State that Works to a State in Ruins,”  the Honourable Commissioner for Information, Public Orientation & Strategy, Hon. Declan Emelumba, fired back with a rejoinder titled “Lawyer Agu’s ‘Satanic Verses’ Against Imo State Government.” However, in his rejoinder, Emelumba made a damning allegation that has now landed him in legal hot water. The Commissioner claimed that “it…

When justice is forced on vacation, silenced by deliberate state action, what you get is not just absence of law, but the reign of lawlessness and terror. This is the reality in Imo State today; a chilling reminder that when power is unchecked and courts are closed, the people become prey. In most civilized democracies, the judiciary is a constant, like the air we breathe. Even during its annual recess, vacation courts are established to handle urgent and time-sensitive matters. In Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, Anambra States [deliberately mentioning our contemporaries who have left us behind] and virtually every progressive state…

As the goalkeeper of NBA Owerri FC, I went to Enugu to represent my branch in the NBA Football Tournament where 40 branches battled for glory at the just-concluded AGC. We came 4th — a commendable feat. But beyond that, I was privileged to be awarded the Golden Glove as the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament. It was a moment of honour. But the true reward came not from a medal; it came from the eye-opening, soul-wrenching experience of spending 10 days (August 18–28) in Enugu, a city that, quite frankly, left me in awe, and in pain. Because I…

Some crave bouquets and medals but want lowered  bars that any leg can hop over and wish for widened hoops so any throw can yield a basket ; but even cicadas have firm rules : every nymph that seeks the imago’s wings must sojourn underground for years on end show the roots from which it drank only sap and point at the bough where it’s exuvia hangs; so do monarch butterflies insist : every caterpillar craving the black and orange wings must endure a sole meal of chewy milkweed undergo in full five mandatory instars and in a chrysalis hang…