Obla Keeps His Word, Commits £33,000 Tuition and ₦25m Upkeep to Idoma Law Graduate

 

Chief Godwin Obla, SAN, has fulfilled a promise he made less than a year ago to support an outstanding young Idoma legal scholar, paying £33,000 in tuition fees and providing ₦25 million for upkeep for Ochanya, the first female of Idoma extraction to graduate with a first-class from the Nigerian Law School.

The financial commitment, made through the Godwin Obla Foundation, is supporting Ochanya’s postgraduate studies at Queen Mary University of London, where she has secured admission to study for an LLM in Artificial Intelligence and the Law.

The £33,000 tuition fee has been paid directly to the university, while ₦25 million has been transferred to Ochanya’s personal account to cover her upkeep throughout her studies in the United Kingdom. The cheques presented during a ceremony in Abuja were therefore symbolic, representing payments that had already been made.

Obla originally made the pledge at a reception organised in Otukpo by the Association of Idoma Lawyers to celebrate newly elevated Senior Advocates of Nigeria of Idoma extraction. At the event, he promised to mentor and sponsor the first Idoma female to achieve a first-class result at the Nigerian Law School for postgraduate studies at any university of her choice anywhere in the world.

Speaking at the Abuja ceremony, Obla declared: “Today marks a fulfilment of that promise.”

He confirmed that both the tuition and upkeep had been fully settled, stressing that the intervention was not merely a reward for academic excellence but also an investment in creating opportunities within the Idoma community.

According to him, the responsibility of supporting one another is particularly important for a minority community.

“As a minority that is overwhelmed by the tyranny of the majority, we must be our brother’s keeper and helper at all times.”

Addressing Ochanya directly, Obla described the scholarship as both an opportunity and a responsibility, urging her to extend the same support to others in the future.

He challenged her to become “a future burden bearer for our people”, ensuring that the assistance she has received becomes a foundation for helping other young Idoma people achieve their dreams.