Port Harcourt Lawyer Bright Nda-Owhor Esq Assassinated, NBA Demands Immediate Arrest of Killers
The Port Harcourt legal community was thrown into mourning following the gruesome killing of Bright Nda-Owhor, a lawyer and indigene of Rumuomasi in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, who was shot dead on Saturday, July 5, 2025.
According to family sources, Nda-Owhor was attacked at about 8:00 p.m. shortly after shopping at a supermarket on Okigwe Street in Rumuomasi. Eyewitnesses reported that three armed men entered his vehicle and shot him at close range before fleeing without taking any valuables.
Despite frantic efforts to save his life, the young lawyer’s condition rapidly deteriorated. He was first rushed to Save a Life Hospital, where he was allegedly denied emergency treatment. A second attempt to admit him at St. Martin’s Hospital on Stadium Road also proved unsuccessful. He was eventually taken to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, where he was placed on oxygen. He passed away around 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 6, 2025.
Nda-Owhor, a former Assistant Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Port Harcourt Branch, was also a former Special Assistant to the penultimate Chairman of Obio/Akpor LGA, Hon. George Ariolu, DSSRS. He was widely regarded as a dedicated legal practitioner and community advocate.
His sudden death has triggered outrage among colleagues, residents, and civil society actors, many of whom have questioned why nearby hospitals failed to treat a critically injured gunshot victim, in violation of Nigeria’s Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017.
The Rivers State Police Command has since launched an investigation into the killing. Authorities have sealed the supermarket where the incident occurred as part of ongoing efforts to gather evidence and trace the assailants.
In a strong reaction, the Nigerian Bar Association condemned the killing and demanded swift justice.
NBA Mourns Bright Nda-Owhor, Demands Immediate Arrest and Prosecution of His Killers
“The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is deeply saddened and outraged by the tragic killing of Bright Nda-Owhor, a member of the NBA Port Harcourt Branch, who was reportedly murdered in cold blood last night.
Bright Nda-Owhor was a promising young legal practitioner whose life was cut short in a most senseless and brutal manner. His untimely death is not just a painful loss to his family and colleagues, but also a stark reminder of the deepening insecurity that continues to plague our society.
The NBA unequivocally condemns this heinous act. No society that claims to be governed by law and order can tolerate the unchecked violence and impunity that such killings represent.
We call on the Inspector-General of Police, the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, and all relevant security agencies to commence an immediate, thorough, and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding this killing. We demand that the perpetrators be identified, apprehended, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
We also extend our deepest condolences to the family of Bright Nda-Owhor, the NBA Port Harcourt Branch, and the entire legal community mourning this profound loss.
May his soul rest in peace. Amen.”
— Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN
President, Nigerian Bar Association
Members of the NBA Port Harcourt Branch, led by the Chairman and Secretary, have paid a condolence visit to the late lawyer’s family. He is survived by his wife and a child.
