Lady Shares Video of Nigerian Lawyer Being Buried, Says it's Her First Time Witnessing Such
- A lady who recently attended the burial ceremony of a Nigerian legal practitioner caused a stir on TikTok when she shared videos of the solemn occasion
- According to the lady, who is a video creator and relationship therapist, it was her first time seeing what a Nigerian lawyer's burial is like
- In exclusive chats with Legit.ng, Barrister Chipuruime Obiagwu-Udeh and Barrister Chidera Divine Ebimnamaonye offered legal insights to put to rest questions on lawyers' burials
Precious Eze, a relationship therapist and video creator, has released videos from the burial of a Nigerian lawyer she recently attended, sparking reactions on social media.
Precious pointed out that it was her first time attending the burial ceremony of a Nigerian lawyer.
Source: TikTok
In one of the videos Precious posted on TikTok, a group of legal practitioners, all in their black gowns, white horsehair wigs, white collarettes (bibs), white shirts, and black attires underneath, carried the coffin of their deceased colleague to the mouth of his grave.
It is unclear when or where the burial was held, and the name of the deceased barrister was not given.
A white horsehair wig and a black gown were placed on the coffin of the deceased. In another clip, Precious filmed the depth of the lawyer's burial place, marvelling at how deep it is.
"It's my first time seeing how deep lawyers grave is.
"To bury a barrister is so painful after all the studies," words overlaid on Precious' video read.
While nothing unusual played out in the short clips from the burial Precious shared, it again brought to the fore the myth that lawyers are buried facedown.
Nigerian lawyers react to lawyers' burial myths
When Legit.ng quizzed Barrister Chidera Divine Ebimnamaonye, founder of Pure Legal Solicitors, about the myth that Nigerian lawyers are buried facedown, he dismissed the widespread claim.
"Lawyers are not buried upside down. If you see a lawyer or human buried upside down, he belongs to some associations whose practice demands “burial upside down“.
"It is unfounded in any legal book or law that lawyers are meant to be buried facedown or upside down. And there is no rule in Nigeria that guides the burying of people in a particular way. Faced down or upside down are all legally permissible."
On whether there is a certain way Nigerian lawyers are buried, Barrister Chidera responded:
"The most important thing is burying them in a way that won’t cause health issues for neighbours. A dead body will decay; it is immaterial how you position the body in the coffin.
There’s no particular way a lawyer should be buried. Face down or up is at the discretion of the family."
Speaking on the scene of 'transfer of authority' captured in one of Precious' videos, Barrister Chidera explained:
"Symbol of authority means that they are giving him his father’s legal apparel to keep. The law cloth means he had a lawyer dad."
Barrister Chipuruime Obiagwu-Udeh, a distinguished lawyer recognised for her double first-class honours from Imo State University and the Nigerian Law School, told Legit.ng that lawyers are buried like every other person and are not laid to rest uniquely.
Barrister Chipuruime, a lecturer at Imo State University, stated:
"Lawyers are buried just like every other person.
"Except that particular lawyer belongs to some type of group that requires special activities and ceremonies to be done.
"I must quickly add that one activity that stands out during a lawyer's burial is the High Court Session, where their colleagues pay their last respect to the late lawyer."
Source: TikTok
Watch the clip from the lawyer's burial below:
Lawyer's burial: Mixed reactions trail video
Legit.ng has compiled some reactions to the lawyer's burial clip below:
mhiz Lisa💕💕 said:
"Omo, so all the sleepless night burning of candles just enter ground like this, so heartbroken."
𝒩,𝑔𝑒𝓁 𝒹𝒾𝒶𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈🍁 said:
"Same way my dad was buried with his wig and law clothes 💔😭, rest well mannn."
jessdefresh er9311145243129 said:
"Please, why do they bury them like this?"
Chidex Digital said:
"Those years when lawyer dies, they normally told us they will bury him or her upside down."
Sandyyy😚❤️ said:
"Everyone is talking about this being their first time of seeing this type of burial,while I’m here still waiting for what they’ve not seen before because they were just standing there doing nothing."
🌸 Audrey 🌸 said:
"Na because of this my mama say make I no do law."
Lizzy baby 💋💋 said:
"Have been wondering too since I was small,am 26yrs and this is my first time seeing this 🤔🤔🤦🤦 accept my condolences 🙏 thanks to social media now."
In a related story, Legit.ng reported that lawyer Bolanle Raheem was finally buried in Lagos.
Lawyer slumps to death
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that a lawyer had slumped to his death outside the courtroom in Port Harcourt.
As reported by Channels TV, the lawyer collapsed and became unconscious outside the courthouse in Port Harcourt, the state capital. The renowned lawyer slumped just as he stepped outside the Magistrate Court building on Moscow Road, Port Harcourt. He was quickly taken to the Police Clinic and was pronounced deceased upon arrival.
The Port Harcourt branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) leadership remained silent on the matter, but Felix Ashimole, a lawyer in the state, seemingly affirmed the incident through a WhatsApp message he circulated across various platforms in the region.
Source: Legit.ng
