Hon. Justice Chinonyerem Onii Egbunine

Hon. Justice Chinonyerem Onii Egbunine,

(First Chief Magistrate in Charge of A Family Court, Imo State, Child Rights Act Advocate)

Hon. Justice Chinonyerem Onii Egbunine was an exceptional jurist of the Imo State Judiciary, High Court of Justice, Nigeria. The History of how the Childs Right Act was passed into Law in Nigeria cannot be told without mentioning the name of Hon. Justice Chinonyerem Onii Egbunine.

She hails from Abia State and was born in 1962. After the completion of her early studies, she obtained a National Diploma in Mass Communication from the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, from 1982 to 1984. Being a highly focused and career-driven individual, she didn’t relent but went ahead to pursue her dream of studying Law, thus earning a Bachelor of Law degree (LL.B) in 1988 from Imo State University, Okigwe, (now Abia State University, Uturu). During her time at the University, she was adjudged the ‘Best Behaved Female Student’ of the University. Upon her graduation, she attended the Nigeria Law School, Lagos from 1988 to 1989. 

She was called to the Nigerian Bar on the 6th of June 1991. She did her National Youth Service Corps with the Legal Aid Counsel Owerri, Imo State. Thereafter, she commenced legal practice as a full-fledged Lawyer with K.K. Ogba Chambers in 1994, a full service corporate and litigation firm in Imo State. During her tenure in the law firm, she gained a wealth of experience in the area of international transactions, local legal practice as well as dispute resolutions. She advised a spectrum of clients both foreign and local in various areas of corporate law, commercial law and drafting of agreement. As she flourished in her legal profession, her diploma in Mass Communication wasn’t left out. She was a director at Imo Newspapers LTD and received a merit award from the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) Imo State chapter in 1992 in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the development of journalism in Nigeria. 

She was appointed a legal officer at the Ministry of Justice, Owerri in May1994 and in December 1994, she was appointed a Magistrate in Imo State. 

Through very hard-work and diligence to her duties, she rose through the ranks as Magistrate Grade II, Magistrate Grade I, Senior Magistrate II, Senior Magistrate I, Chief Magistrate II and Chief Magistrate I grade level 17.  She made a very positive impact in adjudication in the state, her records were so  impeccable that members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Imo State gave her a merit award for dedication and punctuality to duty on the 13th of March 2003 during the 2002/2003 legal year. Her continuous quest for educational excellence further earned her a masters’ degree in Law (LL.M) majoring in International Protection of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law from Abia State University, Uturu in 2004.

She worked contentiously for seven years (2001 to 2008) with the Human Rights Commission (HRC), Penal Reform Institute (PRI), UNICEF and Constitutional Right Project (CRP) as a member of the National Working Group on the reformation of Juvenile Justice Administration (JJA) in Nigeria appointed by the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Mohammed Uwais. She was also a member of the Advocacy Group on the adoption of the Child’s Right Bill by the National Assembly. In January 2002, the National Judicial Institute Abuja nominated her for a course at the Royal Institute of Public Administration (RIPA) London, United Kingdom, this bagged her an International Certificate on ‘Children in the Criminal Justice System’. 

In July 2002, at quite a young age, she lost her dear husband, Chief Onii Egbunine. This was an extremely difficult moment in her life which took a lot from her emotionally and otherwise. Nonetheless, she managed to gather the courage to carry on his legacy and even went as far as registering ‘Onii-Egbunine Kidney Foundation’ , a nonprofit organisation in his memory. The kidney foundation carried out free screening events for members of the Armed Forces in Imo State and sponsored several citizens of Nigeria for dialysis at St. Nicholas Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria.

Representing the lower bench of the Magistracy in Nigeria, she piloted National and State assignments, contributing immensely to the reformation of the Juvenile Justice System in Nigeria and ultimately, the passage of the Child's Right Law 2003 by the National Assembly. Subsequently, UNICEF nominated her as the chairperson/coordinator of the Advocacy Group on the domestication of the Child’s Rights Law. She pioneered the gazetting and domestication of the Child's Rights Law in ten states of the UNICEF 'A' Field zone comprising Abia, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo and Rivers States. Today, through her effort, almost all these states now run functional family courts. She later became the Chairperson of the Juvenile Court in Imo State. 

In March 2014, she was appointed the First Chief Magistrate in charge of the Family Court in Imo State. Despite all the odds, she ensured the smooth running of the court and put in place the Special Children’s Police Unit. Her effort and fight to ensure that the Nigerian Child is protected under the law was evident and the then Chief Judge of Imo State attested to the fact that 'the establishment of the Family Court has brought some form of control and sanity in procedure for the adoption of children who suffered abuse in the past.”

Hon. Justice Chinonyerem Onii Egbunine fantastically held this position until the 3rd of March 2016 when she was appointed a High Court Judge of Imo State to the glory of GOD. She served assiduously on the lower bench as a Magistrate in Imo State for 22 solid years. 

Shortly after this appointment, His lordship was nominated and elected, unopposed as the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJN) at the National Conference of the Association in 2016.  As the PRO of NAWJN, she worked closely with other members of the executive committee of the association to organise activities which exceeded expectations, such as a one-day sensitisation seminar themed, ‘Rural Girl Child Mentorship: A Road Map to Sustainable Development’, a seminar which took place in 2018 in Imo State with the focus being on protecting the girl child under the law, making them understand their rights. Being a Judge from the host state where the event took place, His lordship spearheaded the seminar of which over 300 female students from Imo State were in attendance.

By virtue of being an Executive committee member of NAWJN, His Lordship attended the 15th IAWJ Africa Regional Conference in Nairobi Kenya in May 2017, the 14th Biennial International Conference of IAWJ in Buenos Aires, Argentina in May 2018 and the Law, Justice and Development Week 2018 hosted by the World Bank Group in November 2018 at Washington DC, United States of America where she represented Nigeria. After a successful and active term as the Public Relations Officer of NAWJN, her tenure came to an end in December 2018.

She was an accomplished legal practitioner, a public servant and a serving Judge of the Imo State High Court of Justice. She was an ardent believer in GOD who dedicated her last years fervently to the service of GOD.

Hon. Justice Egbunine, believed in empowering women and ensured that many women in rural areas were trained in skills acquisition under her leadership as the First Lady of Mbaitolu Local Government Area, Imo State, Nigeria where she was married. As the wife of the Local Government Chairman, she alongside her husband, championed copious projects for the betterment and growth of their community, local government and Imo State as a whole. Her zeal and dedication to philanthropy won her a merit award as the ‘Best Co-Ordinator of Better Life Programme for Rural Dwellers in Imo State’ in 1993 during the time of the former First Lady, Late Mrs. Maryam Babangida. Under Justice Egbunine's outstanding leadership, Mbaitolu Local Government emerged first position out of over 24 Local Government Areas in Imo State for the Better Life Programme. 

During and even after her tenure in politics, she contributed immensely to the lives of women in rural areas. After the death of her husband and knowing the challenges which come with losing a spouse (having experienced it herself), she made it a duty to continue empowering widows in rural areas of Imo State. 

She gave her life to the Imo State Judiciary and unremittingly discharged her legal duties up until her demise.

She transited to a glorious eternal life on Tuesday, 5th of October 2021.

May her memory always be a blessing.