By Adewale Kupoluyi I Sunday, Sept 20, 2026
LAGOS, Nigeria – A remarkable development has been recorded in Nigeria, as the National Association of Catholic Lawyers (NACL), recently elected a new National President and executive officers to steer the affairs of the association for the next four years. The elections were held and the officers sworn-in during the 2026 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of NACL, held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The national officers are Sir Azubike Anazor, National President, from Onitsha Archdiocese, Onitsha Province; Mr. Anthony Ekeh, 1st National Vice President, from Warri Diocese, Benin City Province; Chief Dr. Carol Ashar-Ekpendu, 2nd National Vice President, from Markurdi Diocese, Abuja Province; Prof. Rose Ugbe, 3rd National Vice President, from Calabar Archdiocese, Calabar Province; Mr. Francis Ukoh, National General Secretary, from Abuja Archdiocese, Abuja Province; Mr. Almond Waive, National Assistant General Secretary, from Lagos Archdiocese, Lagos Province; and Mrs. Elizabeth Akah, National Treasurer, from Lagos Archdiocese, Lagos Province.
Others are Mr. Desmond Tabakwot, National Financial Secretary, from Kaduna Archdiocese, Kaduna Province; Dr. Adewale Kupoluyi, National Publicity Secretary, from Ibadan Archdiocese, Ibadan Province; Mr. Patrick Adaga, National Social Secretary, from Yola Diocese, Jos Province; Lady Obiageri Onyeulor, National Legal Adviser, from Owerri Archdiocese, Owerri Province; and Hon. Edward Ogar, Ex-Officio, from Abuja Archdiocese, Abuja Province. All the elective posts were zoned to the three old ecclesiastical provinces of Nigeria, namely: Kaduna, Lagos, and Onitsha.
Sir Azubike Anazor graduated from the University of Nigeria in 1982 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1983. He took part in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme in Kano State, between 1983 and 1984.
Thereafter, he joined the law chambers of GRI Egonu, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). He later set up his private law firm in 1986, as an Onitsha-based legal practitioner. Sir Anazor was the first Provincial Representative for the Onitsha Province of the association, and the immediate past President of NACL, Archdiocese of Onitsha. The National President is married with children and is a noble Knight of St. John International. He is currently a doctoral degree student in the Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.
In his inaugural address, Sir Anazor commended the immediate past administration in the last four years, led by Hon. Edward Ogar, and the untiring effort of the National Chaplain, Rev. Fr. Joseph Ilorah, geared towards the successful conduct of the elections.
“I expect all of us to adopt the servant-leadership model of governance. We have been entrusted with the sacred mandate to offer selfless, sacrificial leadership, at personal costs. The interest of the association must be elevated higher and above personal ambitions and personal interests”, Anazor stated.
He further called for support from the larger executive committee and Board of Trustees (BOT) in the onerous task of taking the association to the highest level among the comity of sodalities in the Catholic Church in Nigeria, and promised to ensure that the association is inaugurated and functional in the various dioceses and archdioceses, where it is presently either dormant or non-existent.
The aims and objectives of the group, as a non-profit and non-political association, are to help members to network, realise their full potentials by bringing the practice of the Catholic faith to their work; render professional services to persons in need, including prisoners; help to implement Catholic Social Teaching (CST) in the daily lives of citizens for social transformation; offer legal advice to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) on national matters; act as a network platform for Catholic lawyers in Nigeria; formulate and present bills for legislation by promoting justice and upholding the rule of law, among others.
Membership is open to qualified and enrolled lawyers, as members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), as well as solicitors and advocates of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Sir Thomas More, venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, an English lawyer, judge, author, social philosopher, statesman, theologian, counsellor of law, statesman of integrity and martyr, is the Patron Saint of NACL, whose Feast Day is celebrated on June 22, every year.
Dr. Adewale Kupoluyi, National Publicity Secretary of NACL, kakthelaw@gmail.com