Currently a renowned Nigerian US-based Human Rights Lawyer, Barr. Ogebe, was in turn honoured inside Presidential Villa 29 years after his imprisonment and torture in same villa.
by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
A US-based international human rights lawyer, Barr. Emmanuel Ogebe, an inside villa prisoner and torture returned to the scene and was honoured – twenty-nine years after he went through torture at the same Nigeria’s Presidential Villa for challenging military tyranny.
A young lawyer, in 1996, during the dictatorship of the late General Sani Abacha, Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe, disappeared for writing a letter concerning the assassination of Kudirat Abiola, the wife of Chief Moshood Abiola, putative winner of the annulled June 12th 1993 presidential election.
Ogebe was abducted by State Agents, detained without trial, and brutally tortured inside the Presidential Villa – an unusual venue for silencing dissenting voice, for that act of defiance.
In July 26, 2025, nearly three decades later, Ogebe stood again on the same ground, not as a prisoner of conscience, but as a Guest of Honour to receive the National Diaspora Merit Award, the Nigeria’s highest civilian honours for its citizens abroad.
The ceremony, held at the Presidential Villa and attended by diplomats, civil society leaders, and officials, was deeply symbolic and a testament to justice prevailing over repression.
Ambassador Bianca Onoh Ojukwu, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, presented the award to Ogebe on behalf of the Federal Government.
Barr. Ogebe, according to Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission, the agency that organized the Award, was recognized for his unwavering commitment to human rights, humanitarian service, and transformative impact in Nigeria and abroad.
In 2015, the Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) named him Hero of the Year during its International Human Rights Day celebration, in recognition of his global advocacy for oppressed people.
The Benue-born activist, Mr. Ogebe, and his team conducted over 2,000 surgeries and medical interventions in the North and South of Nigeria, a rare bi-regional spread for international medical teams because of logistic challenges and insecurity, delivering critical aid to underserved communities, IDP camps, and victims of terrorists last year.
Obama-Era Recognition: Indeed, his prior efforts earned him the President’s Bronze Volunteer Service Award under the Barack Obama administration for pro bono legal services to NGOs in Nigeria.
Beyond health interventions, Ogebe’s initiatives have provided education, shelter, relocation and hope, known for transforming lives across Nigeria.
“It was nostalgic for me to set my foot on the ground where 29 years ago I was a prisoner in this Presidential Villa, and today I am here to receive an award for my human rights work. It is only God, who makes it possible.
“I have been to the Villa multiple times before and after my detention and torture, but coming here specifically for a national honor was surreal,” Ogebe said.
He also said that, “Two things I want to say: the ghost of the most recent administration that persecuted me essentially ended when the head of that regime, Gen Muhammadu Buhari, was put in the ground last week. The timing could not have been more perfect.
“The second thing that was intriguing is that, one of the many vulnerable girls that I sponsored to school in America last week became an American citizen. So, a lot of things are just being divinely falling in place.”
Ogebe dedicated the award to his late father-in-law, Professor Fola Soremekun, a trailblazing scholar and Pan-Africanist, who championed African history and anti-apartheid activism,. He is now late and has gone to be with the Lord, but Ogebe hopes to continue with his good works.
He graduated from the University of Jos as Nigeria’s youngest LL.B. holder, in 1990, served as Legal Adviser to Aba Local Government during his NYSC in Abia State, in 1993.
Founded one of Abuja’s first human rights organisations, interacting with the UN and diplomatic entities in 1994, Ogede was arrested and detained by Abacha’s regime for demanding justice over Kudirat Abiola’s killing, in 1996, and became influential in exile internationally.
It all started in 1997, when Ogebe was forced into exile in the U.S., where he testified before New York’s City Council. His advocacy led to the naming of Kudirat Abiola Corner outside Nigeria’s consulate.
In 1998, he engaged with the U.S. Congress and contributed to major legislation on Sudan, AGOA, and religious freedom. He became a voice on CNN, BBC, and international media platforms advocating for Nigeria’s oppressed.
Pioneering legal pathways and development, Mr Ogebe, in 2003, became the first Nigerian admitted to the Washington DC Bar as a Special Legal Consultant.
He was appointed as Nigeria Country Representative for the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF), in 2004, coordinating U.S.–Nigeria projects in agriculture, MSMEs, flood recovery, and HIV/AIDS.
On Humanitarian Work and Medical Aid, over the years, Ogebe has overseen the donation of millions of dollars in medical equipment, consumables and medications to Nigeria, including a $400,000 shipment to Plateau State in 2024. His initiatives have built schools, homes, churches, and orphanages for survivors of terror.
He also facilitated grants for orphans and widows, working with faith-based U.S. organizations – including one funded by Hollywood actor, Denzel Washington.
Ogebe played a pivotal role in bringing international attention to the Chibok girls. In 2014, he arranged the largest U.S. airlift of Chibok escapees to access education abroad, as an advocacy for terror victims and Chibok Girls.
His work inspired the Broadway play, “Eclipsed,” by Hollywood star, Danai Gurira, starring Lupita Nyong’o to dedicate its performance to each Chibok girl by name, including Bono’s (U2) public support for the Chibok girls.
“A brief scene in the Disney mega block buster, ‘Black Panther,’ also memorialized the Chibok girls saga; thanks to Ogebe,” it stated.
In 2023, after over 15 years of pro bono work that secured a historic ruling from the Indonesian Supreme Court, overturning the death sentence of a trafficked Nigerian, Ogebe repatriated him back to his family on Christmas Eve – the first of such post-verdict reprieve ever achieved for a Nigerian in Indonesia, as a landmark legal victory in Indonesia.
In Policy Reforms and Global Recognition, Ogebe was reportedly instrumental in influencing President Jonathan’s establishment of the Victim Support Fund for terror survivors.
Obtaining the designation of Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S., in 2013, prompted ICC investigations into crimes against humanity by Boko Haram, in 2013 and 2020.
His advocacy spanned the United Nations, World Bank, Geneva Summit, and national parliaments from Canada to the UK.
Today, Emmanuel Ogebe continues to serve as Special Counsel for the Justice for Jos Project, offering legal aid, advocacy, and humanitarian support – entirely pro bono.
His numerous honours include: the President Obama Bronze Volunteer Award, recognitions from Nigerian Diaspora groups and U.S. state Governments in Florida, Arkansas, and New Jersey, respectively.
Indeed, from suffering in the dungeons of a repressive regime to being honoured by the same nation, Emmanuel Ogebe’s life is a testament to courage, redemption, a reference point and the enduring power of justice.