Follow Us on Google
From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
The National Community Policing Campaign (NCPC), in collaboration with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), has named the administrative magistrate of Ogbaru Magisterial District in Anambra State, Chief Magistrate Onome Martha Nwankwo, as the Best Magistrate in Nigeria for the year 2025.
Executive director of NCPC, Kingsley Ubah, disclosed this while decorating her with the award at Magistrate Court 1, Okpoko, in Ogbaru Magisterial District, located inside the Okpoko Community Development Union Secretariat.
He said Nwankwo took the lead among other judicial officers selected and, eventually, she was unanimously nominated by the NCPC after a close monitoring of her incorruptible style of dispensation of justice in the judicial system.
He urged other judicial officers in the country to emulate her exemplary ways by shunning all forms of corruption, dishonesty and sharp practices capable of denting their integrity.
Anambra State director of NCPC, Elder Christopher Madueke, explained that a person was bound to be recognised by the achievements and lifestyle he or she lived between the date of his or her birth and the date of his or her death: “Whether you lived 100 or 1,000 years on earth, what matters most in the life of any mortal is not how long but how well, how honest, how neutral and how dedicated you lived the life in all its ramifications.”
President-general of Okpoko Community Development Union, Chief Charles Ezeokafor, noted that the chief magistrate had always remained a shining example in the temple of justice. He expressed the optimism that her conduct would remain indelible in history.
Also, president of Ogbaru Markets Amalgamated Traders Association, Chief Ndubuisi Ochiogu, described Nwankwo as a straightforward person who will always be remembered for her uprightness.
Flanked by other executive members of the market association, Ochiogu praised the award recipient for her landmark judgements so far in Okpoko and urged her to maintain the tempo.
Divisional Police Officer at Okpoko, CSP Ewelu Owai, said, for Nwankwo to be re-elected the chairman of Magistrates’ Association of Nigeria (MAN), Anambra State chapter, unopposed, was an indication that she actually possessed the attributes of the Best Magistrate in Nigeria.
Founder/national coordinator of Human Rights Guide Association of Nigeria, Chief Raphael Agu, said Nwankwo was an upright person and called on other law officers in the country to emulate her sterling records.
Responding, Nwankwo, who expressed appreciation on the honour, particularly the way the organisers enlarged the ceremony, assured that she would remain incorruptible until her retirement from active service: “Nobody can buy justice in my court. I am not corrupt. I don’t take bribe. None of my judgements has been upturned by a superior court because I handle cases the way they are- nothing more, nothing less and that has been my mantra. I became a magistrate about 18 years ago and I rose through the ranks to become a chief magistrate.”
