- James Ocholi was born on the 26th November 1960 to Mr and Mrs James Momoh Odoh of Idan in the present Kogi State.
- He was the second of six children.
- He attended Ochaja Secondary School where he became born again in class two.
- He grew up in an extended family that was so large they could barely afford two meals a day.
- In 1978, shortly after his graduation from secondary school, his father died. Hence, he, being the first son, became the family’s breadwinner.
- Ocholi studied law at the University of Jos under scholarship from the then Benue State Government. He graduated in 1985.
- He was called to bar in 1986.
- He started his private legal practice in Ankpa in 1988, the most commercial centre in Igalaland at the time.
- He met his wife, Blessing Fatima Ocholi, while in school.
- James Ocholi lost his first ten cases at the customary area and magistrate courts level although he eventually won them all on appeal.
- He got his major break in the legal practice in 1998 when he met Kehinde Onafowokan (SAN). Onafowokan facilitated Ocholi’s move to Lagos and allowed him (Ocholi) to handle all his Supreme court cases.
- He applied twice for the conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, in 2006 and 2007. He got it in 2007.
- He contested the Kogi State governorship race in 2011 on the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and lost to the incumbent. He also sought the APC gubernatorial ticket at the party’s primary election recently and lost to the former governor of the state, Prince Abubakar Audu.
- He amassed a lot of fans for his performance during the Ministerial screening at the Senate in 2015 with many describing him as amazing.
- He was the minister of state for Labour and Employment at the time of his death.
He died on the same day, and in the same circumstances – in an auto crash, with his son and his wife, his wife has now been pronounced ‘Dead’
