By Ike Abonyi
All is now set as the Okilololo of Asaba, a man of many accomplishments, a legal icon, and academic excellence, Prof Epiphany Azinge, climbs the throne on Saturday as the 14th Asagba of Asaba.
All roads lead to Asaba, the Delta State capital as the coronation takes place at the Asagba palace, Ogwa Ukwu.
Prof Azinge’s emergence as the new Asagba followed the death of the 13th Asagba of Asaba, the late Chike Edozien, a professor, who passed on 14 February 2024.
On Sunday, August 18, 2024, the Asaba traditional council, the Asagba-in-Council, announced the emergence of the foremost legal luminary, Epiphany Azinge (SAN), as the 14th Asagba (King) of Asaba.
Until his elevation, Azinge, a professor of law, holds the traditional chieftaincy title of the Okilolo of Asaba.
The Ochendo of Asaba, Anthony Edozien, announced on behalf of the Council that the selection process was done in accordance with the Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Edict of 1979, which applies to Delta State.
The five Ebo’s (Quarters) of Asaba, backed by the Iyagba quarters, unanimously selected Azinge as the 14th Asagba of Asaba.
Prof Azinge will be ably supported on the throne by the wife, an equal royal blood and legal luminary, a senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN and former Secretary of the National Conference, Dr. (Mrs.) Valerie Azinge nee Nwodo, daughter of the late Igwe John Nwodo of Ukehe, Nsukka Enugu State.
Prof Azinge, a former Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), was selected from a poll of 10 contenders to the royal stool. Among the contenders were Tony Ogugia Konwea, Emmanuel Onwuka, a professor, and Chinedu Esealuka.
The Profile of the New King of Asaba.
Prof. Epiphany Azinge, OON, SAN, was born on November 13, 1957, in Aba, Abia State, although he hails from Asaba, Oshimili South L.G.A of Delta State. He attended St. Patrick’s College, Asaba, between 1970 and 1975 and then proceeded to the University of Lagos in 1976, where he obtained a degree of Bachelor of Laws with a Second Class Upper Division.
He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1980 and proceeded to the University of London for his LL.M degree specializing in Comparative Constitutional Law and Shipping Law in 1983 and completed his PhD in 1986, writing his doctoral thesis on “Electoral Laws in Nigeria.” He began his academic career at the University of Benin in 1981, where he taught several courses, including the Nigerian Legal System, Legal Process, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law, Labour Law, Public International Law, and Administrative Law.
He also taught Information Technology Law and the Law of Taxation at the University of Abuja. To demonstrate his extreme passion for education he also taught the Nigerian Legal System at the Nassarawa State University, free of charge. At the University of Benin, he held several positions in academics and administration.
He was appointed Special Assistant to the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (HAGF) where he served from 1991 to 1997. During that term, he contributed to many landmark legal developments that led to the promulgation of several enactments, including the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, Failed Banks Act, Advanced Fee Fraud Act, Money Laundering Act, and Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act.
He was a Member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Legal Practice (2004 -2008), a Member of the NBA Continuing Legal Education Committee (2003 -2006), Chairman of the NBA Section on Business Law and its Sub Committee on Sports and Entertainment. He was elevated to the status of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2006. He has published extensively in diverse areas in local and international journals and is also the editor of several books.
In May 2009, he was appointed the 5th Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, where he demonstrated an outstanding passion for legal scholarship and education and edited over 63 books and journals. Outside his academic career, he is actively involved in community development. He is the founder of The Sojourners Medicate Foundation, which he funds to help accident victims on the highway as well as award scholarships to indigent Nigerians.
He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, International Bar Association, and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. In recognition of his academic and administrative achievements, he was awarded honorary LLD in 2013 by the Commonwealth University, Belize, and National Honour – Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) in 2014 by the Federal Government. In 2015, he was appointed member of the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal, CSAT.
According to Prof. Paul Obo Idornigie, Head, Department of Commercial Law, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, NIALS, the appointment to the Tribunal is a great honour. “Members are recognised as persons of high moral character who currently hold or have held high judicial office in a Commonwealth country or who are jurisconsults with at least 10 years experience.”
Prof. Azinge is happily married to Dr. (Mrs.) Valerie Azinge and they are blessed with four children.
