Chief Tom Anyafulude, the Ikenga of Umuabi, hails from Umuabi in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State. He is a distinguished legal scholar and practitioner with a career spanning several decades.
He obtained his LL.B (Hons.) in Law from the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, in 1986, and proceeded to the Nigerian Law School, where he earned his B.L. in 1987.
Chief Anyafulude began his career as a people’s lawyer in the chambers of Chief Ebere Nwokoye, before establishing a thriving legal practice in Abakaliki between 1988 and 1997. Following the creation of Enugu State, he relocated to Enugu, where he served as a consultant in the lower courts under the Access to Justice Programme of DFID. In that role, he authored A Simplified Handbook on the Customary Courts Law of Enugu State, published under the auspices of the DFID programme.
He later joined the Enugu State Judiciary as a Customary Courts Adviser and rose through the ranks to become Chief Registrar of the Customary Court of Appeal, Enugu State. Chief Anyafulude also serves as Secretary of the Enugu State Justice Reform Team. Internationally, he is a member of the World Jurist Association, and in 2001, he presented a paper at the Association’s Summit in Dublin.
Deeply committed to legal scholarship and research, Chief Anyafulude is the Editor-in-Chief of the Judgments of the Supreme Court of Nigeria Law Report. He has authored several authoritative textbooks on Nigerian law, including:
- Civil Procedure in Nigeria
- A Guide to Appellate Proceedings and Brief Writing
- Practical Approach to Land Law in Nigeria
- Principles of Recovery of Premises in Nigeria
- A Guide to Practice and Procedure of Customary Courts in Nigeria
- A Guide to the Principles of Criminal Law in Nigeria
- A Guide to the Law of Contempt of Court in Nigeria
- Principles of Formulation of Grounds of Appeal
In addition, he has written several handbooks on Magistrates’ Courts and Customary Courts for Enugu, Anambra, Rivers, Imo, Lagos, and Ebonyi States.
Chief Anyafulude is happily married to Professor Joy Anyafulude, a Professor of Educational Psychology. Their marriage is blessed with four children:
- Barrister Obioma Obiakor (née Anyafulude)
- Mrs. Lucy Aneke (née Anyafulude)
- Engineer Ekene Anyafulude
- Mr. Ifesinachi Anyafulude