Mrs Patricia Okereke (née Onwubiko), the eldest sister of the founder of Nigeria’s foremost civil rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has died on May 1, 2025, in Abuja.

Confirming the unfortunate news in a statement, National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, a former National Commissioner of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission, said Mrs Patricia Okereke, a mother of six children and many grandchildren, passed away after a brief illness in the nation’s capital.

Onwubiko described his sister as an angel during her time with the family, highlighting her charitable, kind-hearted, deeply religious, and profoundly godly nature. He added that she was someone who wouldn’t hurt a fly.

He said: “My late sister, who was named after the iconic Roman Catholic saint, Saint Patricia, was humane, charitable, a lover of God and humanity, and forthright, honest, and a great mobiliser in the Christian community. Prior to entering tertiary institution, my sister actually aspired to become a Roman Catholic nun, but upon maturity, she chose the vocation of marriage and motherhood.”