Justice for Bob: Friends Demand Release of Late Father’s Children to Paternal Family

Date: April 25, 2026.

Subject: Urgent and Solemn Demand for the Immediate Release of the Three Children of Our Late Friend, Robert Elobuike, to His Paternal Family.

Dear Oba Ambrose Maduabuchi, SAN,

We, the friends of the late Robert “Bob” Elobuike united across Nigeria and beyond write this open letter with deep sorrow, unwavering solidarity, and a firm commitment to justice. Bob was more than a friend to each of us; he was a brother, a colleague, and a man of quiet strength who faced life’s challenges with dignity. His untimely death in December 2016 left a void that time has not filled.

Today, years later, we stand together to speak for him, as he can no longer speak for himself or his children.

Bob married your daughter, Nnenna Maduabuchi, in December 2008. From that union came three beautiful children, innocent souls who are the living legacy of our late friend.

Bob (Robert Ezenwa Elobuike) died on 6th December, 2016, four years after his wife (Nnenna Frances Elobuike, nee Maduabuchi) left with their three children in October, 2012. Bob was denied access to the children by Nnenna’s parents – Ambrose Oba (SAN) and Obiageli Lauretta Maduabuchi until he died in 2016. Bob’s family’s request to have the children witness their father’s burial was not honoured by Oba Ambrose Maduabuchi and his wife.

Nnenna (Bob’s wife) mysteriously died in March 2020. Oba ambrose Maduabuchi notified Bob’s father of her passing. Bob’s father again requested to have the children come home a couple of days to their mother’s burial but Oba declined and instead, took the corpse to Achi, and buried her in his compound.

In the wake of these losses, one would expect families to come together in shared grief, to ensure the children receive the love, guidance, and cultural grounding due to them from both sides. Instead, for many years, you and your family have denied the Elobuike family any meaningful access to these children. Their paternal grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins including the elderly Chief Joseph Chuka Elobuike have been kept in the dark about the children’s whereabouts, well-being, education, and daily lives.

This prolonged separation is not merely a family misunderstanding. It severs the children from their patrilineal heritage, in direct contravention of Igbo custom and tradition, under which children of a deceased man primarily belong to his family. Bob’s children deserve to know their roots in Eke, Udi Local Government Area, their ancestral home, their father’s people, and the values that shaped the man we all cherished. Denying them this connection deprives them of half their identity and risks long-term emotional and psychological harm. No child should grow up estranged from one entire side of their family, especially after losing both parents at a tender age.

As friends of Bob, we witnessed his pain in the years leading to his passing. We know the marital difficulties that arose, and how, from around 2012, access to his own children was restricted. Even during his illness and hospitalization at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, neither his wife nor children visited him. He died without seeing them, and his burial proceeded without representatives from your side. Nnenna’s burial, too, was conducted in a manner that disregarded the union and Bob’s family. These actions have compounded the grief and injustice.

When Bob’s aged father  (J..C.P. Elobuike) died last year, after years of pleading to see his grandchildren, Oba ambrose Maduabuchi was written by Bob’s mother (Patricia Elobuike) through the family lawyer, to release the children for the funeral ceremony but the request was ignored.

You are a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, a learned silk, an officer in the temple of justice, and someone who has served prominent figures in our nation. You understand the law, including the Child Rights Act and the paramount consideration of the best interests of the child.

You also understand that Nigerian jurisprudence and international standards recognize the rights of extended family members, particularly the paternal lineage in customary contexts, to participate in the upbringing of orphans. Continued withholding of the children serves no constructive purpose. It only fuels division, public outcry, and speculation that does credit to no one.

We, Bob’s friends, are not motivated by malice or material gain. Our sole concern is the welfare of his three children and the restoration of what is rightfully theirs by blood and heritage. We demand, in the name of justice, humanity, and the memory of our departed friend:
The immediate release of Bob’s three children to the Elobuike family, or at minimum, unrestricted access and involvement in their lives. Full transparency regarding the children’s current status, education, health, and residence.
The facilitation of a harmonious arrangement that allows the children to bond with both maternal and paternal families, in line with the best interests of the minors.
Late. Chief Joseph Chuka Elobuike, an octogenarian and retired senior federal civil servant, until his death carried the burden of losing his son only to be further alienated from his grandchildren. This must end now! The children deserve to know their paternal root and family while they are still alive.

They deserve to learn the ways of their father’s people and to carry forward the Elobuike name with pride and full awareness.
We call on the Nigerian Bar Association, child rights organizations, traditional rulers, the government of Enugu State, and all people of conscience to lend their voices to this cause. Public campaigns and calls for intervention have been made in the past; the time for resolution is long overdue.

Oba Maduabuchi, we appeal to your sense of fairness and fatherly compassion. Let pride give way to wisdom. Release the children so that healing can begin. In honoring Bob’s memory, allow his offspring the opportunity to grow with the full support of the family he left behind.

The eyes of many who loved Bob are upon this matter. We will not relent until justice is served for our friend and his innocent children.
May reason and love prevail.

Signed,
Friends of Late Bob Elobuike
(United in the Pursuit of Justice for Bob and His Children)

cc:
Chief Joseph Chuka Elobuike and the Elobuike Family.

The Nigerian Bar Association.

Child Rights Organizations in Nigeria.

The Governor of Enugu State.

The Press and the General Public.

We stand firm: #JusticeForBob.