Elias Emeka Anosike, a former secretary of the Abakaliki branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), returned a “brown envelope” to the branch on Monday.
The envelope contained N30,000, which Anosike believes is a bribe for some senior lawyers at the branch to shut their mouths from demanding accountability about a donation by Ebonyi Governor Francis Nwifuru.
Ebele Nwokoye, national president of the NBA between 1985 and 1987, turned 95 in February. Between February 27 and March 1, the Abakaliki branch of the NBA organised a flamboyant birthday celebration in his honour.
The committee tasked to organise the event solicited funds from legal practitioners at the branch and the Ebonyi State Government. The state initially turned down the request stating that it could not be involved in spending public funds on a birthday party, Anosike said.
Anosike served on the organising committee as a member.
“All the members of the branch funded the celebration and it was successful. The government failed to support,” said Anosike.
It appeared the government reconsidered its initial rejection and donated money towards the event days after it had been concluded.
Anosike said the leadership of the branch, under the chairmanship of Ede Samuel Ede, then resorted to sharing the money with some members of the branch rather than handing it over to the celebrant.
In a March 31 letter addressed to the branch chairman, Anosike openly rejected the money which he said was meant to shut people up from demanding accountability for the government’s donation.
“I was not in my office all through Friday 28/3/2025, and when I resumed in the office today, my secretary handed me a brown envelope and informed me that your agent came to our office last Friday and delivered it to her to pass on to me,” the letter read.
“When I opened the brown envelope, it contained money, and I quickly related it to the brouhaha in the NBA Abakaliki platform over money donated by Ebonyi State Government to Chief Ebele Nwokoye for his recent nonagenarian birthday celebration.
“Thank you for your recognition and generosity, but I am not interested in having a share of money meant for another person without his knowledge and consent. Hence, I hereby return the gift.”
Anosike also told FIJ that many lawyers were raising questions about the money on the branch’s WhatsApp group but the chairman was determined to kill their voice.
“There was a rumour last week that the governor gave out money for the celebration and it was meant for the old man,” Anosike said.
“When we demanded from the branch chairman to know if the governor truly released any money and how much it was, he refused to speak to us.
“So, we had our branch meeting the previous Friday but I couldn’t attend because I was not in town. But I read on our WhatsApp platform that some hours before the meeting, the chairman and his executive team started sharing brown envelopes to senior members of the branch to shut their mouths so that they would not speak about it at the meeting.
“At that meeting, someone inquired about the financial support and asked that it be disclosed but people loyal to the chairman said it was too early because the organising committee had yet to submit its report. That was how they killed their voice.”
WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE LETTER?
Around 8 pm on Monday, the chairman called Anosike to express his displeasure on how his name featured in the letter rather than the branch.
Anosike said he responded to Ede that he did so because the person who delivered the letter to his secretary said it was sent by the chairman.
“He said what was written on the letter was ‘NBA Abakaliki’; why did I write his name on the letter? I told him that the dispatcher mentioned his name as the sender, and because I knew his name, I decided to put his name there as the branch chairman,” the former secretary said.
