A Tribute To The Judge Who Shaped My Conscience By Dr Ben Uruchi Odoh

My Noble and Gracious Lord… My Mentoress… My Guiding Light –

Hon. Justice Chinwe Iyizoba, you did not know this at first – but long before you began to mentor me, you had already begun to shape me. I watched how you carried the law – not as power, but as responsibility. Not as a weapon, but as a trust. You made justice look both noble and reachable. You made integrity look practical, not theoretical.

You never lectured me about greatness. You demonstrated discipline. You never preached courage. You practiced it. You never asked for admiration. You earned reverence.

There are conversations with you that still ring in my ears – words you spoke calmly, almost casually, but which rearranged my thinking permanently. You had a way of correcting without wounding, of guiding without controlling, of elevating without announcing that you were doing so.

You taught me that a lawyer must first be accountable to conscience before being accountable to outcome. You taught me that the law is not merely to be known, it is to be honored. You showed me that brilliance must kneel before character, or it becomes dangerous.

My Noble & Gracious Lord, you were firm without being harsh. Brilliant without being proud. Powerful without being loud. In your presence, one did not feel fear – one felt the urge to be better.

When I faced difficult decisions, I often found myself asking silently: *What would My Noble Lord do here?* That question alone has prevented many wrong turns. Even now, it still does.

You saw potential where others saw position. You invested in people when there was nothing to gain from them. You gave your time – that most expensive currency – freely, deliberately, and meaningfully.

And today, as the Hon. Attorney General of my Dear State, I know that part of the foundation beneath my feet carries your fingerprints. Your standards. Your voice. Your example.

It is difficult to say goodbye to someone whose influence has not ended. Because how do you say farewell to a compass? How do you bury a guiding light?

If I and many others like me stand today with a stronger spine in the service of justice, it is because you once stood before us and showed us how.

My Noble & Gracious Lord, if I could speak one final sentence directly into your hearing, it would be this:

Your labour was not lost. Your discipline bore fruit. Your example multiplied. Your legacy is walking.

Rest, great Honourable Justice.
Rest, great Teacher.
Rest, great Soul.

And may we who remain live in such a way that, if you were to look into our courtrooms, our decisions, and our conscience, you would find your standards still standing.

With reverence, with gratitude, and with a debt that cannot be repaid, but only honoured.

Dr Ben Uruchi Odoh
Honourable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ebonyi State, Nigeria