Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu M.B.E (Nigerian, 1917-1994)


Bust of Sir Louis Mbanefo bronze resin60 x 57 x 36cm (23 5/8 x 22 7/16 x 14 3/16in).
|Sir Louis Mbanefo (1911-1977) is often credited as being the first Igbo lawyer and judge in Nigeria. Over the course of his illustrious career, he served as a Supreme Court judge and Chief Justice of Eastern Nigeria.The son of Odu Mbanefo, a high ranking Ozo and member of Onitsha's royal council of chiefs, Louis attended King's College in Lagos before travelling to the UK to read law at the University of London.Having been called to the bar, he returned to establish his own practice in Onitsha. He quickly cemented his reputation as one of the leading lawyers, and in 1959 was appointed to the Nigerian Supreme Court. He was also the first Nigerian judge at the World Court of Justice at The Hague.