Constitutional lawyer and pioneer Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, has passed on at the age of 94.On behalf of the family, Eni Nwabueze said burial arrangements for the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) would be announced in due course.
 
“With great sadness, we announce the passing on of our patriarch, Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN), the pioneer Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Oduah Afo-na-Isagba of Atani, Anambra State, who died in his Lagos apartment about 4.00p.m. on Sunday, October 29, 2023, aged 94. He lived an exemplary life of consequence,” the statement read.
 
Anambra Commissioner for Information, Paul Nwosu, also confirmed the news. Prof Nwabueze was born in Atani, in the Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State. The President-General of Atani Town Union, Arinze Nzeli, also confirmed the death in a statement, yesterday.

PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Atiku Abubakar, has expressed shock over the passing of Nwabueze.
 
The former Vice President, in a statement, yesterday, to The Guardian, disclosed that he shared a refreshing bond with the legal icon. Atiku stated: “He was a fine scholar, who carried himself with excellence and had an avuncular mien.
 
“I fondly recall my encounter with him in 2018 at his country home in Enugu State, where he reminded me of the unfinished Nigerian project. I feel proud to describe the late Professor Nwabueze as my kindred spirit.”

TO honour the former Minister of Education, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, will observe four traditional market days.

Nwabueze, fondly referred to as the “Professor of Professors,” was born on December 22, 1931, in Atani, Ogbaru Local Council of Anambra.

In a statement, yesterday, the Chidi Ibe-led Ohanaeze noted: “As we mourn the loss of this extraordinary scholar and statesman, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, together with the entire Igbo-speaking states, including Anioma in Delta State and Ikwerre in Rivers State, will observe four traditional market days of mourning to honour Professor Nwabueze. We implore all Igbo sons and daughters, both at home and in the Diaspora, to join us in this solemn period of reflection and remembrance.”The organisation appealed to President Bola Tinubu to immortalise the don by naming one of the newly-approved federal universities after him.