I’LL DO THE HARD JOB - KATE MIDDLETON JOKES WITH PRINCE WILLIAM AT BREWERY STOP. (PHOTO).
A Magistrate Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, experienced a shocking and brief disruption on Thursday, March 12, 2026, after official records showed that a lawyer who died in December 2025 had supposedly appeared in court and represented a client on February 10, 2026.
The strange situation came to light during a court session presided over by Senior Magistrate Kingsley Briggs. When the matter was called, the lawyer representing the litigant was absent. The litigant then informed the court that his counsel had passed away in December 2025.
Surprised by the claim, Magistrate Briggs checked the court’s record book. The records clearly stated that the same lawyer had been present during proceedings on February 10, 2026. On that earlier date, the lawyer had reportedly pleaded against the issuance of a bench warrant for the litigant’s absence, explaining that his client was ill and needed medical attention. Accepting the submission, the court had adjourned the case to March 11 without issuing the warrant.
To unravel the mystery, Emmanuel John, Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Port Harcourt Branch, who was present in court, suggested contacting the deceased lawyer’s family. A relative confirmed by phone that the lawyer had indeed died in December 2025, allegedly strangled in his apartment in Oyigbo, Rivers State. The relative added that the police investigation into the death is still ongoing.
For further confirmation, a photograph of the deceased lawyer was shown to the litigant, the court clerk, and Magistrate Briggs. All three independently identified the person in the photograph as the lawyer they remembered from the February proceedings.
The court is now urgently seeking explanations for how the name of a deceased lawyer appeared in official records as having attended and spoken during the February 10 sitting.
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