A former Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, Owerri Branch, Chinedu Agu, has raised fresh allegations against the Branch Chairman, Prof. Mazi Udegbulem, accusing him of using suspected hired supporters to frustrate deliberations at the October General Meeting and questioning the dating of documents tendered in one of the court cases arising from the branch’s leadership crisis.
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Agu, a solicitor and notary public, made the allegations in a statement dated November 1, 2026, titled “Prof. Mazi Udegbulem’s Theatre of Thuggery, Misnamed NBA Owerri Meeting.”
He alleged that the October 31 General Meeting was deliberately packed with persons who interrupted, shouted down and intimidated members who sought to question the Chairman over the ongoing controversy surrounding an alleged ₦100 million expenditure.
The allegations are Agu’s account of events. The material reviewed by this publication did not contain a response from Prof. Udegbulem to the latest claims.
The dispute traces back to an Extraordinary General Meeting held on October 15, 2026, where members constituted a five-man committee headed by Chidi Nworka to investigate the alleged misappropriation of ₦100 million.
According to Agu, the Chairman subsequently instituted at least three court actions challenging steps taken by members of the branch and seeking to restrain moves connected with his investigation and possible removal.
One of the cases, Suit No. HAM/199/2026 before the High Court of Imo State, Ahiazu Mbaise, was filed on October 20.
Agu said the Chairman sought, among other reliefs, an injunction restraining the Nworka committee from sitting or inviting him for investigation over the ₦100 million.
According to him, Justice Mike Onyekachi declined to grant the ex parte relief and directed that the respondents be placed on notice.
Agu further alleged that Nworka was not served with the processes despite a proof of service indicating that he had been served through his secretary.
The matter was subsequently adjourned to November 11, 2026.
A second action, Suit No. FHC/OW/CS/120/2026 before the Federal High Court in Owerri, was also filed on October 20.
In that suit, the Chairman is challenging the legality of the October 15 Extraordinary General Meeting and the five-man committee set up to investigate the alleged expenditure.
Among the reliefs sought is a declaration that the decisions and resolutions taken at the EGM were illegal, null and void.
The matter is fixed for November 18, 2026.
Agu also referred to a third suit filed before the High Court of Imo State sitting at Umuokanne on October 29.
The action joins four of the five signatories to a September 28 Notice of Removal and seeks to restrain them from taking further steps towards removing the Chairman.
According to Agu, the Chairman’s case substantially relies on a letter purportedly written by the fifth signatory, Jude Chinonyere Arisukwu, withdrawing his endorsement of the removal notice and claiming that he had been deceived into signing it.
Agu, however, questioned the chronology surrounding the document.
He alleged that although the withdrawal letter bears the date September 28, his information was that it was actually written on October 30, more than one month later.
He further alleged that the letter was received on October 30 but was endorsed as though it had been received on September 28.
Agu said that if established, the allegation would raise serious questions about deliberate backdating.
He particularly questioned how a document he alleges came into existence on October 30 could have appeared among exhibits in a case said to have been filed on October 29.
“How could a document written on 30 October have been exhibited in a suit supposedly filed on 29 October?” Agu asked.
He said the chronology required what he described as a “thorough and credible explanation.”
Agu also questioned how the withdrawal letter could have remained unknown to the Branch Secretary for more than one month if it had truly been received on September 28, noting that several Branch Executive Committee meetings had allegedly taken place during the period without the letter being mentioned.
On the October 31 General Meeting itself, Agu alleged that the venue had been populated with persons he described as “touts and thugs,” some of whom he suspected were students.
He claimed they were positioned around members known to be critical of the Chairman and interrupted or intimidated speakers whose contributions were considered unfavourable.
Those allegations have not been independently established from the material provided.
Agu also alleged that a confrontation nearly broke out when lawyer Godwin Ikechukwu Umah attempted to speak.
According to him, the intervention of former Branch Chairman Eke Onyeforo and Emeka Nwagwu, SAN, prevented the situation from escalating.
He further alleged that two journalists were nearly assaulted during the meeting before Chief Mike Ahamba, SAN, intervened.
Agu accused the Chairman of controlling deliberations on matters directly concerning him.
He said Udegbulem introduced the report of the five-man committee and the removal motion but pronounced rulings without allowing what Agu considered meaningful debate.
According to him, former Branch Chairman Dec Madu objected to the Chairman presiding over deliberations in which he was the principal subject, but was ruled out of order and prevented from continuing.
Agu said he was also initially denied an opportunity to speak until Professors Nnamdi Obiaraeri, SAN, and C.K. Okorie, SAN, intervened.
He alleged that when he eventually raised questions concerning the disputed documents, he was heckled and one person attempted to take the microphone from him.
The meeting eventually witnessed the departure of some senior members.
Agu said Chief Mike Ahamba, SAN, Emeka Nwagwu, SAN, Dec Madu and Willie Opara walked out before the Chairman ended the meeting, which he said lasted less than 50 minutes.
Agu further said that as of November 1, the report of the three-man committee constituted by the NBA President, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, which had been expected on October 30, had not been made available.
He also said the five-man committee constituted by the branch had completed its report but members were not given an opportunity to receive and deliberate on it at the October meeting.
Agu described the controversy as an early leadership test for the NBA President, while commending her initial intervention in the crisis.
He maintained that members were seeking accountability, transparency, procedural fairness and adherence to the rule of law.
“For an association whose members are sworn to uphold the rule of law, it would be a tragic irony if the demand for accountability could be defeated by intimidation, procedural manoeuvres and the substitution of organised thuggery for reasoned deliberation,” he said.
The disputes over the alleged ₦100 million expenditure, the removal process and the validity of the branch’s October 15 resolutions are now subjects of pending court proceedings, with hearings scheduled in November.
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