A Magistrate’s Court sitting in Port Harcourt was thrown into confusion on Wednesday after a lawyer, believed to have died last December, appeared before the court to represent a client.
Earlier, during proceedings presided over by Senior Magistrate Kingsley Briggs, a matter came up for hearing and the counsel representing the litigant failed to appear in court.
When the magistrate inquired about the lawyer’s whereabouts, the litigant informed the court that his counsel had died in December 2025.
The revelation stunned the court, prompting Briggs to immediately consult the court’s record book.
Upon reviewing the records, the magistrate confirmed that the same lawyer was recorded as present in court on February 10, 2026.
According to the magistrate, the lawyer had on that date intervened on behalf of the litigant, and pleaded with the court not to issue a bench warrant against his client, explaining that the litigant was ill and required medical attention.
Briggs explained that based on the lawyer’s plea, the court exercised discretion and declined to issue the bench warrant, instead adjourned the matter till March 11, 2026.
The development sparked confusion among the audience in the courtroom, as the litigant insisted that his lawyer had died two months before the February court appearance.
In an effort to resolve the situation, Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), who was present in court, suggested that the family of the deceased lawyer be contacted for clarification.
A family member, who was subsequently reached, confirmed that the lawyer had indeed died in December 2025. The lawyer, he added, was allegedly strangled to death in his Oyigbo apartment.
The family member further disclosed that the matter had been reported to the police and investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death were still ongoing.
The strange development left both the court and observers confused, raising questions about how the name of the deceased lawyer came to be recorded as present during the February court proceedings.
Court officials were said to be reviewing records to determine what transpired during the earlier sitting.
The case was subsequently adjourned.
The Guardian
