Following the gruesome murder of an Imo State-based lawyer, Chinedu George Nwowu, all the courts within the Mgbidi, Oguta and Omuma areas of the state were ordered shut by the Nigeria Bar Association on Thursday.
Nwowu was on Wednesday night shot dead along the Mgbidi Highway by yet-to-be-identified gunmen after they intercepted him and dragged him out from his car.
It was gathered that following the killing, the NBA, Orlu branch, announced the closure of all courts within the area.
The branch, in a memo issued on Thursday by Chukwuemeka Okoro, notified lawyers that an emergency meeting would be held by 10 am on the same day at the High Court premises in Mgbidi.
The statement read, “Following the gruesome murder of one of us, Chinedu Nwowu last night in his town, Mgbidi, all lawyers of Oru/Oguta Forum are hereby notified of a crucial emergency meeting this morning by 10 am at the High Court, Mgbidi.
“The Mgbidi, Oguta and Omuma High Courts will not sit today. Please, be punctual.”
The NBA chairman, Ben Amukamara, confirmed to our correspondent that the members were meeting at the Mgbidi High Court premises following Nwowu’s killing.
A source who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Nwowu was driving along the Mgbidi Highway when the gunmen intercepted him at about 7pm on Wednesday.
The source said after his car was intercepted, the gunmen dragged him out and shot him several times before they fled.
The source said, “We just saw a car overtake the man’s car dangerously and right before our eyes, the boys carrying guns just jumped out and stopped the man’s car.
“The gunmen dragged him out from the car and just shot him many times. Then, they entered their car and drove off. We were lying on the floor for fear of our lives and watching helplessly. The incident did not last up to five minutes to enable people to rally help from the security operatives.
“People later came out and rushed him to a nearby hospital but he was pronounced dead on arrival.”
Meanwhile, the Imo State police spokesperson, Henry Okoye, has confirmed the incident even as he said they had commenced an investigation into the killing.
He said the police would not allow the perpetrators of the killing to get away with their crime and assured the people that the police were on top of the case.
Okoye said, “The police are pained by this incident but I can assure you that we will apprehend the hoodlums behind this dastardly act. We have already commenced an investigation and we will stop at nothing to catch the gang.”
