As Nigerians gather for the funerals tites of the late Senator Okechukwu Ezea has been described as a dogged fighter who could wrestle lions, yet a
soul as meek as a lamb.
These are the words of the 1st Vice Nigerian Immigration Lawyers Association, NILA, Sir Prince Ebere Nwokoro who painfully penned on the theme: “HEARTED SCHOLAR WITH THE SOUL OF A LAMB” as laid bare his undying friendship with the Lawyer turned Politician.
Disclosing that their paths crossed in 1996 at the University of Lagos, when they both enrolled for the LL.M programme, Sir Nwokoro who narrated the rough road late Senator Ezea whom they nicknamed Lombroso, passed through before emerging in the National Assembly described him as Scholar and Statesman.
He went down memory lane: “Yet, even as he pursued scholarship with monk-like devotion, Okey was already
a consummate businessman, plying his trade in clearing and forwarding. He
would later steer IDEKE Shipping Limited into becoming one of the most formidable players in the admiralty space east of the Niger.
“But fate, ever mischievous, tested him brutally. Consumed by jealousy, a business partner at the time concocted vile falsehoods against Okey, exploiting his wife’s military connections—she being a naval officer—to unleash the coercive machinery of the State against an innocent man.
“Okey was arrested, detained under the most dehumanising conditions, and
forced to sign cheques, surrender trucks, and relinquish assets as the price of
liberty. As if that were not enough, the partner weaponised disparate police formations, including the then‑dreaded SARS, to hound and torment him
relentlessly.
“Rather than focus on his studies, Okey was driven underground.
He attended lectures like a fugitive—sneaking into classrooms, absorbing knowledge with intensity, and vanishing into hideouts to evade unlawful arrest.
“Collaterally, my own life was drawn into the vortex. I became his legal counsel, pro bono, by necessity and by loyalty. After lectures, we retreated to hideouts for strategy sessions, traversed the city through the night, consulted police
contacts, and attended meetings that blurred the line between day and dawn.
“And yet—we both emerged with distinction.
Okey finished as the Best Graduating Student, with me closely following on his
heels. That feat, achieved under persecution, speaks volumes of his intellectual
sagacity, discipline, and indomitable spirit.
“Through divine intervention and the superior force of law, we exposed the
falsehoods, persuaded the authorities, and compelled the police to charge the errant partner to court.
“When incarceration loomed, the same partner enlisted
priests—men of shared faith—to appeal to Okey’s conscience.
“True to character,
Okey obliged, opting for peace over vengeance, and the matter was settled
amicably,” he pointed out.
While disclosing that the late Senator who had successfully defended
his doctoral thesis on the topic ,“Electoral Justice in Nigeria: The Role of the Courts.” was duly listed for convocation, and was poised to don the final academic regalia, Prince Nwokoro regretted that death, like a thief in the night, crept in and
snatched him away.
He further pointed out Senator Ezea who was a Fellow of the Nigerian Immigration Lawyers
Association (NILA), would have stood solidly behind the Nigerian masses on the Electronic transmission of election results.
“How poignant, then, that this very week, as the nation stands still to bid him
farewell, electoral reform has once again reared its head in the National
Assembly. The troubling signals emanating from those hallowed chambers—
particularly on real‑time electronic transmission of results—would have deeply
unsettled Okey.
” I have no doubt that, had he been alive and seated there, he would have stood tall for Nigeria and voted unequivocally in favour of electronic
transmission. Sadly, death chose to silence this principled voice, NILA 1st Vice President painfully observed.
He therefore commiserated deeply with the late Senator’s beloved wife, Chioma; his first son, Jideofor; his siblings; the Enugu North Senatorial District; and the good people of Enugu
State on the irreparable loss.
Late Senator Okechukwu Ezea, whose night of tributes holds on Tuesday, 10/2/26 will be laid to rest on Friday, 13/2/26 .
