A high-stakes legal battle involving the former Governor of old Anambra State, Chief Senator Jim Nwobodo, his wife, and a prominent Enugu medical practitioner, Dr. Basil Kenechukwu Ogbuanu, was unexpectedly stalled at the Enugu State High Court following a dramatic, last-minute change in the defendants’ legal representation.

​The abrupt shake-up in the defense lineup forced a halt to the scheduled proceedings, preventing the court from hearing key applications in the multi-party land and property dispute.

​The presiding judge, Justice C.C. Ani, was forced to adjourn the matter on Thursday to October 22, 2026, to allow the plaintiff’s legal team sufficient time to study a wave of newly substituted court processes filed by the defendants’ new counsel.

​The legal battle, registered under Suit No. E/328/2026, pits Dr. Ogbuanu against Chief Senator Jim Nwobodo, his wife, Barrister (Mrs) Patricia Nwobodo, and seven other corporate and individual defendants.

​The co-defendants in the sprawling suit include Linkana Hotels Limited, Mr. Gerald Asogwa, Kingsley U. Chime, Surveyor G.C. Ishiwu, Millennium Construction & Estate Developers Limited, Hon. Titus Okechi, and Moss Island Limited.

​At the resumed hearing on Thursday, the court was officially notified that the Nwobodos and their co-defendants had formally debriefed their former legal representative, the distinguished Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Iyom A.J. Offiah of Obra Legal.

​In her place, the defendants briefed Chief C. Chuma Oguejiofor, Esq., of Chuma Oguejiofor & Co. (House of Law), based on Carter Street, Ogui Road, Enugu, to take over their defense.

​Upon taking charge of the defense, Chief Oguejiofor immediately moved to withdraw all legal processes previously filed on behalf of the defendants by their former counsel on July 6, 2026.

​The defense then substituted those withdrawn documents with a brand-new set of applications, affidavits, and objections, which were formally filed in the court’s registry on July 16, 2026.

​Dr. Ogbuanu’s lead counsel, Onyechi Araka, did not oppose the sudden withdrawal and subsequent replacement of the defense’s processes, recognizing the defendants’ constitutional right to choice of counsel.

​Araka, however, strongly urged the court for an adjournment, stating that his team required adequate time to meticulously study and analyze the newly filed processes, which they intend to vigorously contest.

​Recognizing the fundamental principles of fair hearing and the plaintiff’s right of reply, Justice Ani granted the application for adjournment, scheduling October 22, 2026, for the hearing of all pending applications.

​Among the new filings introduced by the Oguejiofor-led defense team is a crucial Notice of Preliminary Objection aiming to terminate the plaintiff’s lawsuit at its foundational stage.

​The objection, brought pursuant to Section 86(6) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) and various provisions of the High Court Rules of Enugu State 2020, prays the court to set aside the service of the originating processes on the defendants.

​Alternatively, the defendants are asking the court to strike out or dismiss the entire suit in limine (at the threshold), arguing that it is entirely incompetent and constitutes a gross abuse of the judicial process.

​In the grounds listed for the application, the defense contends that the originating and other vital processes in the suit were never properly served on the defendants.

​The defense further launched a scathing critique of the lawsuit’s drafting, describing the plaintiff’s pleadings as “unnecessarily verbose, circumlocutory, imprecise, windy, and mostly lacking in meaning.”

​Crucially, the defendants argue that Dr. Ogbuanu’s lawsuit is a direct and abusive replication of an active, pre-existing lawsuit.

​According to court documents, a prior lawsuit, Suit No. E/244/2025, between Dr. (Mrs) Patricia Nwobodo & Anor vs. Dr. Basil Ogbuanu, was filed on March 1, 2026, long before the present suit was instituted, involving the same parties and subject matter.

​The defense also raised a structural jurisdictional issue, asserting that the police and other public officers whose presence is imperative for a comprehensive and final determination of the dispute were not joined as parties.

​Furthermore, they argue that the suit is legally barred by Section 9(1) of the Actions Law, Revised Laws of Enugu State 2004, and that requisite pre-action notices were never served on the public officers involved.

​In a supporting affidavit sworn to at the High Court Registry, Chidinma Edeh, a litigation clerk at Chuma Oguejiofor & Co., averred that she had the explicit consent of the defendants to depose to the facts of the change of counsel and the preliminary objection.

​As both legal teams retreat to their chambers to draft their respective responses, members of the Enugu legal community and public observers are keeping a close watch on the High Court ahead of the high-stakes showdown on October 22.

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, on Thursday broke his silence over the death of Miss Mary Habila, a staff member who died at the minister’s residence in Uburu, Ebonyi State, insisting that he suspected no foul play and describing attempts to link him to the incident as “politics taken too far.”

Umahi said the deceased, whom he described as “like a daughter,” had worked closely with him for years and had a history of medical challenges for which he personally funded treatment.

He also revealed that his late aide complained of bleeding from her nose during a phone conversation with her boyfriend shortly before she was found dead, as he insisted there was no evidence of foul play in the incident.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja to update the public on newly approved projects by President Bola Tinubu, the minister disclosed that the deceased was a nurse employed by the Federal University of Health Sciences, Ebonyi State, contrary to reports describing her as a physiotherapist.

The minister’s comments come amid widespread public interest and speculation surrounding the circumstances of the young woman’s death after reports emerged that she died in one of the ministry’s guest houses.

Providing his first detailed account of the incident, Umahi said the deceased had been living and working with him for about three years and enjoyed a close relationship with his family.

He also appealed to the deceased’s family to permit an autopsy to establish the exact cause of death, revealing that he had directed that the body should not be released for burial until the procedure was conducted.

He said, “My lawyers have spoken on my behalf. But one piece of information I want to correct is that the lady in question was like a daughter to me. She had stayed with me for three years. She was a staff member of the Federal Medical University. She was a nurse and not a physiotherapist. And her family and my family are like one family.”

The minister disclosed that the deceased had been receiving treatment at a Turkish hospital before her death, with medical bills allegedly paid by him.

According to him, “She has her medical records in Turkish Hospital, being paid by us. The last one was on the 5th of April, and it cost me N2.2 million. The records are there. I paid N2.2 million.”

Umahi also narrated what he said were the deceased’s final moments before she was found dead, claiming she had complained of bleeding from the nose during a telephone conversation with her boyfriend shortly before communication stopped.

He said, “She spoke to her boyfriend at the hour of her death and complained that she was bleeding from the nose. The boyfriend said, ‘No, you have to report it.’ She said it had stopped. The boyfriend then said, ‘Listen, I will not continue this conversation since you are bleeding. It will increase the bleeding.’

“She told the boyfriend, ‘Don’t cut the call.’ The boyfriend cut the call. Three minutes later, the boyfriend called again. She was not responding.”

According to the minister, the deceased had earlier informed her boyfriend that she intended to take a bath before communication ceased.

“Even in the morning, she told her boyfriend she was going to bathe because she had locked her door. When they discovered something was wrong, they broke down the door and discovered her dead. The tap was still running,” Umahi said.

The minister stressed that the guest house where the deceased died was located far from his personal residence, arguing that it was unfair to hold him personally responsible simply because the incident occurred within facilities linked to the ministry.

“What baffles me in this country is that everything becomes an opportunity. There is a guest house where she and other medical personnel stayed, and that is very far from where I stay. Does it mean that because somebody dies in the Ministry of Works, the minister must be accountable for that?” he asked.

Umahi lamented what he described as attempts to exploit the young woman’s death for political purposes.

“People should be careful when they want to use the unfortunate death of a young girl to play politics. If we have a hand in the killing, it will follow our families and us. But if we don’t have a hand in it and you are jumping into it, be careful. Life is spiritual,” he said.

The minister said the deceased had been one of his most dedicated staff members and that her death had left him devastated.

“It is very painful to me that the girl passed on. It is very difficult to replace her. She was one of my best workers,” he said.

Umahi disclosed that efforts by investigators to conduct an autopsy had so far been unsuccessful because the deceased’s family objected on cultural grounds.

He said, “We have been begging the parents to allow an autopsy to happen. They said it is against their culture. But we insisted through our lawyer that an autopsy should happen. I have directed that the corpse cannot be removed until an autopsy.”

The minister added that he had requested the Inspector-General of Police to transfer the investigation to Abuja to ensure a thorough probe and facilitate discussions with the family.

“We have reported to the Inspector-General of Police to transfer the case to Abuja. Let them beg the family to do an autopsy. I am also begging the family to meet with the Inspector-General so that he can convince them,” he said.

Umahi further claimed that the deceased had previously experienced similar episodes of nosebleed while accompanying him on official assignments.

According to him, “The boyfriend also told us that when we were in Lagos, she called him and said she was bleeding from the nose. He advised her to report to me so I could send her back to the hospital, but she didn’t want to stress me. He then told her to find a hospital around and seek treatment.”

He urged investigators to retrieve the telephone records between the deceased and her boyfriend.

“I have asked the police to go to the call logs. They should go to the call log of the boy and the call log of the girl, and they will hear the last conversation the girl had with the boyfriend at the hour of her death,” he said.

While maintaining that the investigation should run its full course, Umahi said he had seen no evidence suggesting criminal activity.

“I suspect no foul play because the other lady who stayed with her was sleeping in the same bed. Her room was still locked, and the door had to be broken before they discovered the body. The tap was still running because I think she was going to bathe,” he stated.

The minister also criticised the circulation of photographs allegedly taken at the mortuary, accusing some police officers of leaking misleading information.

He said, “When they took her to the mortuary, that was where the police took the picture. They did not dress her up in the mortuary before taking the picture and sending out damaging information.”

Umahi vowed to pursue legal action against media organisations he accused of spreading false information and cyberbullying the deceased.

“I have directed my lawyers to get across to those involved in cyberbullying this matter. We are going to test the law on that,” he added.

The PUNCH reports that the death of the female nurse has generated widespread public attention following reports and social media claims questioning the circumstances surrounding her demise at a government guest house linked to the Ministry of Works. The incident has prompted calls from some groups for an independent investigation, while police authorities have continued inquiries into the case.

An autopsy, which investigators consider crucial to determining the exact cause of death, has yet to be carried out following objections reportedly raised by the deceased’s family on cultural grounds. Police investigations are ongoing.

A High Court in Kogi has dismissed as false and misleading, a social media report alleging that it ordered the deregistration of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

A statement issued on Thursday in Lokoja by the Court’s Chief Information Officer, Saqeeb Saeed, said it neither handled nor determined any case relating to the registration or deregistration of the party or any other political party in Nigeria.

It noted that the misleading publication was accompanied by photographs of the Chief Judge of Kogi, Josiah Majebi, and former Governor, Yahaya Bello.

It said that the photographs created what it described as a mischievous impression that the purported decision emanated from the high court.

The court noted that it would ordinarily not have responded to the publication but deemed it necessary to set the records straight.

It added that the report had the potential to undermine the integrity and dignity of the judiciary.

It urged members of the public, particularly content creators, to verify facts before publishing information capable of misleading the public.

The court warned that the dissemination of false information capable of tarnishing the image of judges and the High Court of Justice or other courts under its administrative control would no longer be tolerated.

It, therefore, urged the public to disregard the social media publication, reaffirming its commitment to dispensing justice fairly, diligently and without fear or favour. (NAN)