Ezeobi buried amid eulogies by Jonathan, Adoke, others
Foremost lawyer Chief Theodore Ezeobi, SAN was last Wednesday laid to rest at his country home in Awgbu, Anambra State amid tears and eulogies. He was aged 75.
The fiery lawyer and consummate Bar activist was buried after a pontifical funeral mass at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Awgbu.
In a tribute, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan described the passing of Ezeobi as “sad.” Describing him as an “eminent jurist,” Jonathan said: “Without doubt, Chief Ezeobi made his mark in his chosen profession and contributed greatly to the social development of his community and the nation at large.” He prayed God to grant the family the fortitude to “bear this irreparable loss.”
Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) said he received the news “with total sadness and grief.” He words: “The Bar has indeed lost an icon who carved for himself a niche of discipline, selflessness, erudition, finesse and undiluted advocacy. Little, wonder, and uniquely too, all the children towed the irresistible path of studying law thus becoming one of the very few all-lawyers family in Nigeria.”
On his part, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu said he received the news of his demise with a “deep sense of loss.” He said Ezeobi’s was a “life well spent,” adding that he “led a pious life of selfless service to humanity and has bequeathed creditable legacies” to the nation.
In a statement by its President Zik Obi II, the Otu Oka-iwu Lagos described the one-time scribe of the umbrella body of lawyers of Igbo extraction as a “very active” member of the association since its inception in the early 70s, adding that he was a “good, hardworking and dedicated man.”
While Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN) described him as “one of the finest members of the Bar for whom we have great respect,” Owelle George Uwechue (SAN) said he was “a well accomplished legal practitioner who showed the highest level of honour, integrity and discipline to the course of his practice.” Similar sentiments were expressed by the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria among others.
Aside from delegations of Otu Oka-iwu Lagos and Nigerian Bar Association (Lagos Branch) led by their President and Chairman respectively, several Senior Advocates, Mrs. Beatrice Ekwueme, wife of Nigeria’s former Vice President Alex Ekwueme as well as Prof. Laz Ekwueme were among dignitaries that graced the funeral rites.
Meanwhile, another lawyer Lady (Barr.) Ifeoma Obi was also interred at her Osumenyi country home two days later. Aged 50, Mrs. Obi died in India where she and her family had gone for routine yearly medical check-up and was given a clean bill of health by a leading Indian hospital. She was buried after a funeral mass at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, Osumenyi.
An active member of Otu Oka-iwu Lagos, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and Soroptimist International, she was a Lagos-based legal practitioner. The funeral rites were witnessed by former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, a high-powered delegation of Otu Oka-iwu Lagos led by its president as well as FIDA and Soroptimist International members among others.
Tributes also poured in from Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu, NAFDAC Director-General Paul Orhii, FIDA Lagos, Aka Ikenga, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Soroptimist International of Nigeria, Dr. Stella Okoli (OON) and Senator Andy Uba to name a few. She is survived by Sir (Pharm) Nnamdi Obi, Chairman of Embassy Pharmaceuticals and four children.
Judith Amarachi Ugoh