The sudden passing of a legal practitioner, Donatus Ukuli Esq., after being called to bar of recent, has been drawing mixed feelings from those who knew the deceased, with a colleague in the law profession, Donatus Irene Esq., blaming the existence of death on God for creating humanity.

The late Ukuli Esq. who hails from Kokodiagbene Community in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West area of Delta State, was laid to rest in his hometown on Saturday, June 24, 2023, amidst tears from families, friends and associates.

"I don’t blame anybody but I blamed the Almighty who created humanity," said Irene Esq., a legal practitioner based in Ondo State. "My message to the family is that death is a necessary end which will come when it will come. Ecclesiastes 7:7, the body will go back to the dust, and that is where they have taken him to. Then the soul will go back to God who gives it and I am sure his soul will rest in the Bosom of the Lord," he added.

Present at the funeral ceremony were a body of lawyers in Gbaramatu Kingdom led by Emotimide Friday Esq. who in the course of the funeral handed over the wig and garb of the late Ukuli to one of the children with the words, “It is our prayer today that the Late Donatus Ukuli, who has passed on and a member of this legal profession, we pray that this legal profession never depart from this family. And we pray let this wig and garb be with this family, one day someone will become a lawyer. And the person will become member of this profession. We pray so. May God grant our prayers in Jesus name, Amen.”

Speaking to PENGlobal Community after the funeral ceremony, the secretary of the body of the legal profession in Gbaramatu, Werisinde Timiyan, described the late legal practitioner as a hardworking person but that his passing was "shocking".

"The late Donatus Ukuli Esq. was a good man, very calm, always smiling. He took the legal practice very seriously, very diligently. I pray that the good Lord will give his family the fortitude to bear this loss because this is really a huge loss, not just to the family but to the entire kingdom.

"You know, someone that was just called to the bar last year, and this year we are attending his burial, it is a sad one. I don’t really have the right words to use because we are still in shock as to how this happened. But we take solace in the fact that he has gone to be with the Lord and we pray that his gentle soul will rest in peace," she added.

A minister in the legal profession, Pastor Benedict Emuoghenemojutor Esq., one of the pastors in Living Faith Church, Powerline, Okpaka, where the deceased worship, noted that the late Ukuli taught him so many things just as he urged the family of the deceased to emulate his lifestyle.

"Donatus Akpo Ukuli is a brother indeed. He is an example of a good Samaritan, someone that is loved by all and he also loved people. He is somebody that lived a very sacrificial life. When you give him something to do he is ready to put in all strength. The church miss him so much because we know his worth, his value, his capacity, we know what he can do, we know what God is doing through him, he is a brother indeed.

"When I had the opportunity to travel with him to Kwara for a ceremony, and we shared the same room, when I looked at his life, he is somebody worth emulating. There are so many things he has really done to impart our lives. He is somebody that is homily when it comes to his own family, very caring. He taught me about things he does for his family, and I looked at myself and said if he can be doing that then I can be able to do that. There are so many things to say about him, we miss him so much. But we know that he is in the Bosom of God resting and may God give him a perfect rest.

"I would want to tell the family that not only them missed him, we also miss him. They should be encouraged in the Lord, they should be comforted; they should have an assurance in their hearts that one day they will meet with him again. My advice for them is that they should also emulate the things he has done. He is a very kind hearted person, he is a person that loves God. They should follow his footsteps and one day they will meet again," the pastor-cum-lawyer counseled.

For Irene Esq., the passing of Ukuli Esq. remains "a painful exit" and an "unbelievable" one. The Ondo State based legal practitioner, who said they met at Gwari, Nigeria Law School in the middle of March 2022, encouraged the family of the deceased to console themselves and look up to God.

"God is the provider, not man. God is going to provide for them; they should be consoled, they shouldn’t think much about his departure, and it is God that created humanity and it is God that has taken him. They shouldn’t feel bad but should take courage, and God is going to do the best for the family especially the children, God is going to take care of them. It is God that created them, not Donatus Ukuli. Then the wife too, God is going to provide," he assured.

The late Ukuli Esq. passed away on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at the age of 41 years and is survived by a wife, Mrs. Lilian Ukuli (Nee Akpobire), four children, and other relatives.

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