By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The late Tribune Abuja Bureau Chief, Chief Leon Usigbe was finally laid to rest amid cries and tributes on Saturday in Karshi , a community between Abuja and Nasarawa State.
Dr. Usigbe, an intellectually acclaimed and renowned journalist, passed on to glory on July 25, 2025, 2025, after a brief illness.
Rev. Fr. David Osagie Akahomhen, presiding over the requiem mass, at St. Patrick Catholic Church Karshi, preaching from Wisdom 4:7-15, Romans 8:14-23, first and second readings, respectively, praised the late Usigbe as a man who lived a life of impact.
Osagie recalled that Usigbe was a man known for offering support to the church and for helping those around him to shine, also hailed him as a committed family man, citing an example when kidnappers attacked his home while he was away in the US, he took steps while abroad to secure his family.
The Reverend also described the late Usigbe as a man of courage to the very end.
He read the text message the late Usigbe sent to him: “Please, Father, don’t worry about me; I have lived a good life.” Osagie called on friends and associates of the late Usigbe not to forsake and abandon his family after the burial.
Speaking on behalf of the media team of the presidency, Stanley Nkwocha, senior special assistant to the president in the office of the vice president, said the presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga who was unavoidably absent, directed him to represent the media team of the Presidency.
Nkwocha who described Usigbe as a gentleman with dedication to fitness and a positive outlook, said he was a journalist of high standards whose passing left grappling emotions.
On his part, Fred Ituah, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Edo State, speaking to the Nigerian Tribune, said, “Dr. Leon was a brother, a kinsman, and somebody most of us looked up to in journalism. His death, though shocking, was quite surprising too. We are hoping that God will console his family and the rest of us who will still carry on the mantle he has left within the journalism space. We will continue to make him proud and do all we can do.
“And another point is that for our colleagues, journalists, when you are in need, in trouble, or ill, always pick up your phone. A problem shared is sometimes half solved. A good number of us were not even aware that he was ill until it was too late, and I am hoping that going forward some of these incidents will be prevented, and if our colleagues are in need and they need us, we should always be our brothers’ keepers, like the Bible prescribes, and I pray for the repose of his soul.”
Dr. Leon Usigbe’s daughter, Barrister Osose Ivy Usigbe, while giving a vote of thanks on behalf of the family, thanked relatives, colleagues, and friends for honoring their late father in a special way. She said, “We appreciate our relatives, who stood by us from the very beginning, colleagues and church members who came from near and far. It has enlightened us that we are not walking this road alone. May God richly bless you for honoring our father in a special way. Thank you. Though our hearts are heavy, we are consoled that our father lived a life of impact.”
Dr . Leon Usigbe Habue Usigbe, was born on March 13, into the family of Daniel Ewalefoh Usigbe of Idumu-Eka, Uromi, Esan North-East Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria.
He attended St. Anthony’s Catholic School, (now Okpuje Primary School) in the late 1960s. He proceeded to Esan Grammar School for secondary education, in 1982. Furthermore, he furthered his education at Auch Polytechnic (now Federal Polytechnic, Auchi) for his OND in mass communication, and thereafter attended Anambra Polytechnic, Oko, in 1988 for an HND in mass communication.
In pursuit of further knowledge, Dr. Usigbe attended the University of Abuja, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA Hons) in Theater Arts in 2008, a master’s degree in Media Arts in 2016, and a Ph.D. in Media Arts in 2021.
He began his career in journalism when he was posted as a youth corper to Katsina State to Concord newspaper as a reporter from 1988 to 1989.
He went on to become state correspondent for Vanguard newspaper in Katsina State from 1989 to 1993, senior correspondent from 1993 to 1999, and assistant news editor from 1999 to 2003.
His impeccable track record in the media space led to his appointment as Special Assistant (Media) to the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, from 2003 to 2007. He would subsequently become assistant editor at Tribune newspapers in 2009, deputy editor in 2015, and Abuja Bureau Chief in 2021. After attaining the mandatory retirement age of 60, his appointment became contractual in 2023, leveraging his expertise in the profession.
Dr. Usigbe who was an avid football fan, with a special allegiance to Chelsea Football Club, as well as a physical fitness freak, is survived by his wife of over three decades, Dorothy, and four children, Ivy,Leroy, Valerie and Jordan, as well as many siblings.
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