A human rights advocate, Hon. Barr. Ephraim C. Okafor, has called for trial and punishment of the killers of ADC leaders: Mrs. Esther Chimezie Ijeoma and Mr. Ambrose Ndukwe.

They were murdered gruesomely on 30th January, 2026, in Umulolo in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State. He said the victims must be appeased with justice by the government and the court.

In a release issued by the Rights Lawyer, he  insisted that the Law Must Take Its Course

Under the Criminal Code, observing that murder attracts the severest punishment known to law – adding that political status, influence or affiliation offer no immunity.

“On 30 January 2026, Nigeria recorded yet another dark chapter in its democratic journey with the brutal killing of Mrs. Esther Chimezie Ijeoma and Mr. Ambrose Ndukwe, respected leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Umulolo Ward, Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State.

“Their deaths were not ordinary crimes. They were a direct assault on constitutional democracy, grassroots political participation and the sanctity of human life.

“In any society governed by law, such an act should shake the conscience of the nation. A Direct Violation of the Right to Life.

“The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) guarantees under Section 33 (1) that every person has a right to life. This provision is not decorative; it is the very foundation of our legal order.

“The Supreme Court has consistently held that the right to life is the most fundamental of all rights, as without it, no other right can exist (Kalu v. State).

The killing of these political actors was therefore not only criminal but unconstitutional.

“Political Violence Is the Enemy of Democracy

Mrs. Ijeoma and Mr. Ndukwe were not armed insurgents. They were political organizers at the ward level, the very engine room of democracy. When political participation becomes a death sentence, democracy itself becomes an illusion.

“The courts have long warned that democracy cannot thrive in an atmosphere of fear and violence (INEC v. Musa). Political killings silence dissent, discourage citizen engagement, and hand governance over to intimidation and brute force.

“State Responsibility and the Culture of Impunity

Beyond the immediate perpetrators lies a more troubling issue: state responsibility.

“Where the State fails to prevent, investigate or punish unlawful killings, it becomes complicit through negligence. Under both Nigerian law and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the government bears a duty to protect life and ensure accountability (Abacha v. Fawehinmi).

Impunity emboldens killers.

“Silence licenses repetition. The Criminal Law Must Take Its Course

Under the Criminal Code, murder attracts the severest punishment known to law. Political status, influence, or affiliation offers no immunity.

“Those who planned, financed, executed, or covered up these killings are equally culpable (State v. Aibangbee). Justice must be blind to power.

“A Dangerous Precedent

If the killing of ward-level political leaders can pass without consequence, then no citizen is safe.

Today it is ADC leaders in Umulolo Ward.

“Tomorrow it may be community organizers, journalists, or ordinary voters. A society that normalizes political bloodshed mortgages its future.

“The Way Forward is that Nigeria must respond decisively by Conducting a transparent and independent investigation;

Prosecuting all culprits without fear or favour; Providing compensation and justice to the families of the deceased;

Dismantling the structures that enable political violence. Justice delayed is not just justice denied—it is an invitation to anarchy.

The killing of Mrs. Esther Chimezie Ijeoma and Mr. Ambrose Ndukwe is a test of Nigeria’s commitment to the rule of law.

“Will we choose justice over silence, or allow fear to replace citizenship?

Democracy cannot survive where politics is enforced by bullets rather than ballots. The dead can no longer speak. The living must not remain silent”, he stressed.