Reverend Father Edwin Obiorah has made history in the Catholic priesthood by becoming the first Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) designate.
The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee announced on Thursday the elevation of 72 persons to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
On the list included 10 academics and 62 advocates.
Father Edwin Obiorah is one of 72 lawyers made SAN or Queen’s Counsel (QC) in the history of the entire Commonwealth and the United States.
Obiorah and 71 others will be formally admitted into the elite silk bracket on Wednesday, December 8, 2021, at the Supreme Court, Abuja.
Rev. Fr. Dr. Edwin Sunday Chukwujekwu Obiorah popularly known as Edwin Obiorah, is a Priest of the Roman Catholic Church and a lawyer of high repute.
He was born on June 26, 1955 to Chief Timothy Obiorah Anakudo and Mrs. Esther Obiorah Anakudo. Edwin Obiorah is a native of Igbuala Village, Ifite-Ukpo (Ifitedunu) in Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Edwin Obiorah had his early Education at St. Simon’s Catholic School, Ukpo in Anambra State. His early Education was however interrupted by the Nigerian civil war in 1967.
In 1968, Edwin Obiorah was miraculously saved from being bombed by one of the Nigerian bomber crafts. That was when he was taken to Awkuzu refugee medical centre at St. Raphael’s Catholic, Awkuzu due to illness and a bomb was dropped on their building barely minutes after he left his bed.
In June 1968, he was lucky to be among those children included by the then Biafran government to travel to Gabon for medical treatment. When he got to Libreville, Gabon, he was selected to go to the city of Mouila, Gabon, to continue his primary education. At Moila, he found favour with the Bishop of the Diocese of Mouila called Raymond De La Mourere, who took the young Edwin Obiorah to Suborn in Paris, France, to continue his primary education.
In France, Edwin Obiorah was the only black boy serving Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral Parish. It was while there that his call and vocation to the priesthood manifested.
However, in 1970, Edwin Obiorah returned to Nigeria and in 1971, he completed his primary education at St. Gabriel’s Primary School, Ifite-Ukpo, Anambra State. In January 1972, Edwin Obiorah was admitted as one of the pioneer students of St. Paul’s Seminary, Umunuko, Ukpor. He was later admitted into All Hallows Seminary, Onitsha, in 1973.
In 1976, he obtained his West African School Certificate (WASC) and G.C.E. O level with straight ‘A’s in all nine subjects.
His outstanding performance made the then ArchBishop of Onitsha, now Francis Cardinal Arinze, to appoint Edwin Obiorah as the first formative teacher of the Brothers of St. Stephen, at Holy Trinity Onitsha. He also doubled as the Bursar for the Archbishop’s household.
In 1977, Edwin Obiorah’s outstanding performance at his ‘O’ level prompted his cousin to obtain admission form for him to study Law at the University of Nigeria but the young Edwin rejected the offer of admission as his heart was yearning to fulfill his primary call, which was to the Priestly vocation.
In 1978, in other to assist him in achieving his dream of becoming a priest, the Archbishop of Onitsha, now Francis Cardinal Arinze, sent Edwin Obiorah to Bigard Memorial Seminary, Ikot-Ekpene, an affiliate of Urban University, Rome, to do his Philosophical Studies.
In 1981, he obtained his Bachelor of Philosophy degree with a Second Class Honours, Upper Division.
Furthermore in 1982, in pursuit of his dreams, Edwin Obiorah was admitted into Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu, another affiliate of Urban University, Rome, for his Theological course. In December of that year, he was admitted into the Ministry of a lector. In December 1983, he received the Ministry of Acolyte. Thereafter in December of 1984, he was ordained a Deacon. In June 1985, Edwin Obiorah received his Bachelor of Divinity Degree with a First Class Honours. He distinguished himself as the first of two candidates to get a First Class Honours in 1985.
Edwin Obiorah’s dream of ordaining a Priest became reality when on November 16, 1985, he was ordained a Priest of the Roman Catholic Church by his Excellency, Most Rev. Dr. Albert K. Obiefuna (now deceased), the then Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Awka.
On November 16, 2010, Edwin Obiorah celebrated his Silver Jubilee as a Priest and the Oocasion was well attended by notable personalities in Anambra State and beyond.
After his ordination, he was posted first to St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Ufuma, Anambra State, where he impacted the lives of the parishioners.
He has also ministered in Sacred Heart Parish, Uwani, Enugu; St. Paul’s Catholic Church, Ebute Meta, Lagos; Our Lady of Assumption Church, Falomo, Ikoyi, Lagos; Vicar of Dodan Barrack and Bonny Camp, Ikoyi, Lagos; Our Lady of the Lake Cluther Parish, New York, USA; St. Alphonsus Church, Auburn, New York.
LEGAL CAREER
In 1987, the Catholic Bishop of Awka, Most Rev. Dr. Albert K. Obiefuna (now deceased) sent Edwin Obiorah to study Law in other to defend the poor and oppressed.
This, he did at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC), and graduated in 1990 with an LL.B degree in Law and was subsequently called to the Nigerian Bar in 1991 with a B.L. coming out with Second Class Upper Division in both instances.
While still studying Law, Edwin Obiorah also did a Post Graduate course in Education at the Anambra State University of Technology, Enugu, and obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) in 1989.
He went further in 1992 to obtain his Masters in Law (LL.M) at the University of Lagos, specializing in Land Law and Securities.
In 1994, Edwin Obiorah was admitted to continue his graduate studies in Law by an Ivy League University known as Cornell University, Ithaca New York.
Before beginning his studies at Cornell, Edwin Obiorah first obtained a Diploma in International Law and Jurisprudence from the University of Paris, Suborn, Paris. From there he proceeded to Cornell University.
In 1995, he earned an LL.M degree from Cornell University after an following performance.
At Cornell University, it was an established principle that candidates could not apply to be admitted into the prestigious Doctor of Juristic Science (J.S.D) being offered by the school as every three years, the school usually chooses one of its past outstanding graduate students and recommend them to the graduate school of the University for acceptance into the J.S.D Professional study and research programme.
In 1995, Cornell Law School recommended Edwin Obiorah to Cornell Graduate School to proceed with the J.S.D. degree programme. In addition, the school awarded him a $40,000worth of tuition scholarship.
In the same year, Edwin Obiorah became a fellow of Cornell Institute of African Development.
In December 1996, after distinguishing himself by completing with distinction the academic and professional requirements for the award of the much-coveted degree, Edwin Obiorah defended his dissertation titled “ECO-JUSTICE: A New Paradigm in Environmental Jurisprudence.”
The duration for this programme was a minimum of three years but for the first time in its history, a time waiver was given to Edwin and he defended his work.
In 1997, Cornell University conferred on Edwin Obiorah the rare degree of Doctor of Juristic Science (J.S.D.) and he became the first African to obtain the degree from Cornell University and the 19th person to receive the honour from the University since its establishment in the 18th century.
Edwin Obiorah became the first person to formulate the principles of Eco-Justice which states in a nutshell that ‘right and life are autochthonous’. According to his work, every living creature has the inalienable ‘right to try to survive’, a right which nature compels every non-human creature to obey in its ecosystem. Because of its originality and innovation, the monumental work was published by the United States Government in the library of congress and the book is for sale at Amazon- the world’s greatest online shop.
ACHIEVEMENTS
With six degrees and three diplomas under his belt, Edwin Obiorah actually began his legal career in 1992 when he attached with Chief Nwazojie (SAN), the former Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation.
He gained his initial reputation as a trial lawyer when he represented the Federal Government in the 1990 census litigation. It was in the course of that case that Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC’s) Secretary General observed him in court and instantly gave him six contentious briefs.
After a brief appointment as an Associate Professor at Cornell University, Edwin Obiorah got a position as an Associate Counsel at Harris & Wilcox in Rochester New York, the most respected law office in upstate New York, a firm with 250 practicing lawyers. He later put in charge of international litigation and was the only black attorney in the reputed firm.
Edwin Obiorah was appointed to the bench as a Judge in New York but the Bishop of Rochester and the Catholic Bishop of Awka objected the appointment as being incompatible with his vocation as a priest.
From 1998 to 2004, Edwin Obiorah was the legal adviser to the Catholic Diocese of Rochester on immigration matters. He was also the first black legal adviser and board attorney to the crime stoppers of greater Rochester, New York.
In 2004, the Bishop of Awka Diocese recalled him to Nigeria and he founded what is today known as Equity Law Office, Awka – one of the biggest and busiest law offices in South eastern Nigeria. He founded the office to address the plight of the poor and oppressed and so far he has brought solace to several families and the State as a whole.
Rev. Fr. Dr. E.S.C. Obiorah has also been involved in the development of the law as he has done some contentious cases in which the Supreme Court made pronouncements on.
Chief amongst the cases he did is on whether an accused person is entitled to all the facilities needed for him to have a fair trial. The matter went from the magistrate to the High court, to the Court of Appeal and finally got to the Supreme Court where a fully constituted panel did justice to the issue and gave a land mark decision on the matter.
Another important case he did that also border on fundamental human rights was the repugnant Awka tradition of disallowing women the honour of performing the dust-to-dust ritual at the grave side of their late husband.
The High Court in Awka,also gave a landmark decision on that matter.
Fr. Edwin Obiorah has been listed in many international directories of ‘Who is Who’ in the legal profession. He has been listed as a life member in Strathmore’s ‘Who is Who’ and the Global Directory of ‘Who is Who’.
He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the New York Bar Association, the American Bar Association and International Bar Association. He was called to the New York Bar in 1996, and has practiced in both the US and Nigerian Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.
In recognition of his outstanding achievements, Nigerian Biography dedicated a page to chronicle his biography for the world to see.