EXCLUSIVE: How Enugu Lawyer Orchestrates Elaborate Scheme To Defraud Widow Of Former Police Officer Killed By Defunct SARS

SaharaReporters’ investigation exposes how a widow seeking justice after her husband’s extrajudicial killing ended up being victimised again, this time by the man she entrusted with her case.

An Enugu-based lawyer, Barrister Tony Igwe, has become the central figure in what is being described as one of the most disturbing cases of legal malpractice and financial exploitation in recent years.

The lawyer Igwe has been implicated in a scheme that stripped a young widow of properties and cash worth billions of naira following her husband's extrajudicial killing by police.

SaharaReporters’ investigation exposes how a widow seeking justice after her husband’s extrajudicial killing ended up being victimised again, this time by the man she entrusted with her case. Multiple sources, including senior law enforcement officials, accuse Igwe of theft, forgery, financial manipulation, and threats to life.

How the Ordeal Started

The crisis began on January 27, 2018, when Collins Ezenwa, a former police officer turned businessman, was arrested by officers of the defunct SARS in Owerri and later executed extrajudicially. Although the police initially claimed he died in a shootout, an Amnesty International investigation confirmed he and three associates were arrested at a checkpoint and killed in SARS custody.

At the time, his wife, 25-year-old Gift Ezenwa, was four months pregnant. Two months later, the police IRT team, then led by DSP Abba Kyari, seized the late Ezenwa’s properties, froze his bank accounts, and confiscated cash and real estate.

Turning to Igwe for Help

In her desperation, after dealing with several lawyers who took money without helping, Mrs. Ezenwa was introduced to Tony Igwe by a Reverend Father. At the time, Igwe was not yet a lawyer due to a Law School examination malpractice case.  Despite not presenting himself as a lawyer initially, he portrayed himself as someone with connections who could recover her husband's body and fight the illegal confiscation of their property.

The Manipulation Begins

Documents reviewed during the investigation show that Igwe quickly embedded himself in Mrs. Ezenwa’s life. He told her to move to Enugu so he could “assist” her more closely, cut her off from family support, and gained access to sensitive financial information.

One of his first strategic moves was convincing her to purchase a six-flat building from him in Enugu for ₦85 million, using nearly all the money she had. He claimed he had been building it for his wife but was willing to sell it to her instead.

This pattern of control later expanded into what investigators now describe as a calculated scheme to take over her assets entirely. Postpartum Crisis Exploited

Following the birth of her child in June 2018, and faced with the pleasure arising from ACP Abba Kyari and his team, Mrs. Ezenwa experienced what medical professionals might recognize as postpartum depression, likely exacerbated by trauma and stress.

This vulnerability was allegedly exploited when Igwe arranged for her hospitalization at the government psychiatric hospital, Enugu.

The same day, Mr Igwe took her and her six-week-old baby to stay in a nearby hotel while a “specialised doctor” came to administer a drug to her.

“.. after the first injection … I lost consciousness for about 2 weeks. I could not remember where I was.  I was completely blank for the two weeks … until my sister fought the doctor who insisted he reverse whatever injection he gave me.

“I regain consciousness later when the injection stops. Then, immediately we left the hotel, I was arrested by policemen from the IRT,” Mrs Ezenwa told SaharaReporters.

Medical experts consulted for this story explained that the pattern of sedation described by Mrs. Ezenwa raises serious ethical concerns.

According to her sister's account, one injection caused such a severe reaction that the doctor had to administer a counteracting medication.

This medical episode created a perfect opportunity for Igwe to further cement his control over Mrs. Ezenwa's finances and life decisions, our investigation found.

The Paper Trail: Missing Millions

Bank records indicate that Mrs. Ezenwa recovered approximately ₦100 million from a previously frozen account at FCMB Bank, Enugu.

Under Igwe's direction, she withdrew large sums in cash, which she handed to him for "safekeeping."

Additionally, a probate process handled by Igwe through another attorney released ₦85 million from her late husband's unfrozen personal account with Zenith Bank.

This too disappeared into Igwe's hands, with Mrs. Ezenwa having limited visibility into the transactions.

"He would take me to different banks to withdraw cash, which I gave to him to deposit in his own account," Mrs. Ezenwa stated, adding,

"Sometimes the cash was given to his bank officer, Martins, at Zenith Bank in Enugu."

SaharaReporters sighted several bank documents and notifications from several banks, including Zenith Bank, IBTC, Enugu branches, showing several transfers and withdrawals dated June and July 2019, most of them in cash.

According to Mrs Ezenwa, these cash withdrawals were made by her in the presence of Mr Igwe and quickly handed over to Mr Igwe.

“I felt like a sheep being led by a benevolent shepherd,” Mrs Ezenwa said.  “The alternative, I was told, was death by execution in the hands of IRT.”

The UK Escape and Continued Control

As legal pressure intensified in Nigeria, Mr. Tony Igwe arranged for Mrs. Gift Ezenwa to travel to the UK for studies in September 2019, telling her that the police were still hunting her and that leaving the country was the only way to stay alive. Before her departure, however, he allegedly compelled her to sign blank documents and authorisations that gave him unrestricted control over her finances and assets.

What appeared to be an act of protection was, according to investigators, a calculated move to operate without oversight. Igwe reportedly confiscated her phone and replaced it with another that contained none of her relatives’ or lawyers’ contacts, claiming it was for her safety.

For three years, her family could only speak to her through Igwe’s phone, with him monitoring every conversation. He refused to disclose her personal number.

While she struggled in the UK with her young child, Igwe was allegedly liquidating her Nigerian assets. He reportedly sold her six-flat building in Enugu, several other properties in Owerri, Enugu, and Aba, removed valuables from her Enugu residence, dissolved a Bureau de Change business belonging to her late husband, and collected rent from remaining properties without accounting for the funds.

His takeover of the Wizim Lodge Bureau de Change was allegedly executed through letters to FCMB, Enugu, requesting changes in signatory details, cheque book issuance, and phone numbers. Once in control, he allegedly emptied the account in both naira and foreign currency. Between 2020 and 2022, he relocated his own wife and children to the UK, purportedly for a master’s programme, while funnelling money to them through the Bureau de Change.

Financial records show a recurring pattern: whenever Mrs. Ezenwa asked for money for tuition or living expenses, Igwe would say the funds were exhausted and insist another property needed to be sold.

“He left me with no savings from the recovered funds or from the properties he sold,” she said. “I couldn’t have a normal conversation with him or make suggestions.”

When she began questioning his management, Igwe allegedly resorted to emotional manipulation, even claiming that stress from her case caused his wife to lose a child.

“He told me that all the properties are proceeds of crime and that I have no right to ask him to account for the properties and money,” she said. SaharaReporters obtained several phone recordings between Mr Tony Igwe and Mrs Ezenwa.

In the phone call, which was believed to have taken place on November 8, 2024, at about 9.58 pm, Tony Igwe was heard speaking to the widow in a harsh tone.

Tony Igwe: “You are not thinking how to, how to, I don’t think, you have forgotten where you come from, are you getting me? You have forgotten where you come from.”

Gift Ezenwa: “Ok, you said it is illegality, I am just asking about the money, the house that I bought from you, and I left it in confidence for you.” Tony Igwe: (interrupts): “That’s what I'm trying to think. I said forget that trust, please, from today onwards stop trusting me, I told you that all those things are proceeds of crime.”

“The truth was that Mr Igwe was not a lawyer when he was brought in to handle the matter.”

Sources told SaharaReporters that Mr. Tony Igwe was meant to graduate from the Nigerian Law School, Enugu, in 2007 but was implicated in an examination malpractice scandal. He allegedly arranged for another student, who shared his surname and was the son of a late former Onitsha NBA chairman, to sit for his final bar exam. Both men were caught, suspended, and investigated by a disciplinary panel. Despite the scandal, Igwe eventually graduated in 2019.

Incidentally, one of the lawyers Igwe claimed to have paid N5 million from Mrs. Ezenwa’s account to secure her land documents is a lecturer at the Nigerian Law School, Enugu—and was also a member of the panel that investigated him for the exam misconduct.

A Web of Deception

Investigations reveal that Igwe allegedly constructed a highly coordinated scheme that allowed him to control several senior legal practitioners without any of them realising they were working on the same case.

The lawyers involved include some of Nigeria’s respected legal figures, Sir O.A.U. Onyema, Justus Ijeoma, Dr. Tunde Ogunsakin (a retired AIG), A.B.C. Nwakanma, Jude Okanyi, Ozoemena, Amalu, among others.

Each lawyer was assigned a different fragment of the late Collins Ezenwa’s estate or the criminal case surrounding his extrajudicial killing: unfreezing bank accounts, handling criminal charges filed by rogue police officers, recovering seized property, managing probate, and safeguarding land documents.

Because Igwe compartmentalised their roles, none of the lawyers knew others were involved in the same matter.

The manipulation extended to Mrs. Ezenwa. She said Igwe barred her from contacting any lawyer once their task was completed, frequently telling her that each one was “greedy” or “only interested in her husband’s property.” This created a cycle of isolation that kept her reliant on him for all information.

Igwe also told her he had paid each lawyer between ₦5 million and ₦10 million. But when contacted by SaharaReporters, at least two of the lawyers firmly denied ever receiving any such payment.

Looking back, Mrs Ezenwa told SaharaReporters, “I feel like he took me to so many lawyers with the accompanied lies just to take away all the money in my possession so I can solely depend on him to control me.

“Even the receipt of the house I bought from him was taken away and given to one of the lawyers for safekeeping.” Legal Battle Escalates

After several attempts by Mrs. Ezenwa and other concerned individuals to convince Mr. Igwe to return the properties to the rightful owner, Mrs. Ezenwa, through her lawyers, wrote to Igwe demanding immediate action or threatening legal consequences.

In a letter dated June 5, 2025, her lead lawyer, Dr. A.A. Orunkoya Esq. of Dr. A.A. Orunkoya & Co. Chambers, demanded a comprehensive inventory and account of all properties belonging to Mrs. Ezenwa.

"We have it on good authority that rather than render account to our client in compliance with the Legal Practitioners Act and Rules of Professional Conduct, you have resorted to threats and intimidating antics against our client with a view to converting her properties.

“This is, to say the least, unethical and antithetical to the rules of the legal profession in Nigeria," the lawyer wrote.

However, in a show of defiance, Mr. Tony Igwe responded with more threats and blackmail tactics.

"I reject all unfounded and defamatory allegations made in your letter. Nevertheless, I remain committed to a peaceful and structured settlement, whether directly with your client or through her duly appointed representative," Igwe wrote in his response.

He proposed a formal meeting in Enugu at either his counsel's office or that of O.A.U. Onyema, Esq, who he claimed was already handling related matters before the court in suit No. E/101/2025.

"If your client continues to ignore these efforts, I will have no choice but to pursue appropriate legal remedies, including filing a counterclaim for defamation, breach of agreement, and recovery of all outstanding expenses incurred on her behalf," Igwe threatened.

Mr. Tony Igwe allegedly escalated his manipulation beyond threats. His close associate, Chief O.A.U. Onyema of O.A.U. Onyema & Co., filed a suit at the Enugu High Court seeking 10% of all Mrs. Ezenwa’s assets. In another suit (No. E/101/2025) at the Federal High Court, Enugu, Onyema demanded ₦150 million in unpaid legal fees, ₦5 million in litigation costs, and ₦100 million for “psychological trauma, embarrassment, discomfort, stress, breach of trust, and breach of contract.”

However, SaharaReporters’ investigation indicates that the lawsuit appears to have been orchestrated by Igwe himself. After Onyema’s ex parte application, the court directed that all processes be served on Mrs. Ezenwa through substituted service, via the 4th defendant, Tony Igwe. Notably, the affidavit supporting this application was filed by Barrister Arima-Igwe, Tony Igwe’s wife.

Investigators found that Igwe was made a dummy defendant, allegedly in agreement with the applicant. Despite knowing about the lawsuit, he filed no defence and, having isolated Mrs. Ezenwa, never informed the court that he had no access to her.

When contacted, Chief Onyema denied acting on Igwe’s behalf. He claimed the suit was his own attempt to recover unpaid fees, explaining that Igwe introduced Mrs. Ezenwa and her in-laws, who were facing property forfeiture proceedings at the Federal High Court, Owerri, to his chambers for representation.

Both lawyers shared a power of attorney, while the woman, reportedly fearful and under threat, insisted that all communication go through Igwe as coordinating counsel.

Onyema also said that Mrs. Igwe, Tony’s wife, was his former law school classmate and merely helped prepare the court documents, adding that Tony only met her through him.

Their alleged plan to seize control of Mrs. Ezenwa’s properties collapsed when Onitsha-based human rights lawyer Justus Ijeoma applied to join the suit. Ijeoma had long been familiar with the matter, having represented Mrs. Ezenwa as Amnesty International’s contracted lawyer in her case against the police and served as her lead counsel before the National Human Rights Investigation Panel in 2019.

In an affidavit in support of his motion obtained by SaharaReporters, Barrister Ijeoma stated, among other things, that: “That I am aware that since the conclusion of the cases, despite the fact that I have personally called on the 4th Defendant (Tony Igwe) to convene a meeting of counsel and other stakeholders, no meeting has been held to discuss the journey so far, settle outstanding bills, if any; return to the 1st Defendant( Mrs. Ezenwa) her due properties; and bring formal closure to the case.”

SaharaReporters contacted Mr Tony Igwe on several occasions for reactions and comments on the allegations, but he declined to respond to the allegations.   On one of the occasions, he threatened the reporter, saying, “Go and do your worst.”