“See how they killed my elder brother at his court in Imo State this afternoon. They finished me,” sister to Imo judge killed by gunmen on Thursday laments.
By Emma Ogbuehi
For the family of the Imo State Customary Court judge, Nnaemeka Ugboma, who was assassinated on Thursday afternoon, it is still just like a bad dream.
Ugboma, who was Chairman of Ejemekwuru Customary Court in the Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State, was shot dead on Thursday by gunmen who rode on motorcycles.
He was elder brother to Ms. Chioma Ugboma, a senior journalist with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
An inconsolable Ms. Ugboma who reached out to Ikechukwu Amaechi, Editor-in-Chief of TheNiche, at exactly 00:34 on Friday via a text message on WhapSapp wrote, “See how they killed my elder brother at his court in Imo State this afternoon. They finished me.”
Sobbing uncontrollably when she was called, Chioma begged that the story should not be written yet so that her aged mother does not get to hear about the gruesome murder of her son through the media.
“Story not be written so that my mother won’t hear. May be from Saturday. I am packing some things to go to Owerri this morning because of my mother,” she grieved.
Chioma, who said the elder brother was her shield and mentor could not believe that anyone would kill such a harmless man.
A source who was at the scene of crime said that unlike earlier reports which claimed the judge was killed while the court was still sitting, the judge had just finished presiding over the day’s court session.
The source who pleaded anonymity told TheNiche, “The court just rose and the judge had come outside, opened his car door and was about getting in to drive out when some people on motorbike rode in and pulled their guns.
“People milling around the court premises started running, including the judge. That was when one of the assassins saw him and just shouted, “that is him, that is him” and they just shot him in the head and he died instantly. They just shot one bullet. It was the handiwork of a marksman.
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“It was pure assassination. They came specifically for him and left after accomplishing their evil mission.”
The killing of the judge, who hailed from Nnebukwu community in Oguta LGA of Imo State, caused panic in Ejemekwuru community as natives and residents alike fled their homes.
The judge, a 1991 law graduate, was practicing law in Lagos before the Imo State government invited him to come home where he picked up appointment as a customary court judge.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Owerri Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ugochukwu Allinor, who confirmed the killing, said the branch would inform the public of its actions in regard to the incident.
