Aggrieved Imo Monarchs Head To Court, Insist Eze Ohiri Committee Is Illegal

In a bid to assert their right and avert purported ambush by Governor
Rochas Okorocha, about forty (40) monarchs have headed to an Owerri
High Court, describing Eze Ohiri's Committee as a kangaroo body
thereby accusing the state governor of witch-hunting and intimidating
the Imo traditional rulers through setting up of an illegitimate
council headed by his stooge, Eze Sam Ohiri.

According to the press release made available to Trumpeta Newspaper
for the Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers to "effectually and
validly perform any lawful act, it should be constituted in strict
compliance with the provision of Section 2 (2) of Imo State of Nigeria
Traditional Rulers, Autonomous Communities and Allied Matters Law № 6
of 2006 (as amended)."

They averred that 27 members of all of who were appointed by the
governor made up the council instead of 54 members which the law
mandatorily stipulated, positing that inview of the breach of the law
establishing the council, "the Imo State Council of Ndi Eze set up by
Governor Okorocha is an illegal body having not been properly
constituted as required by law and thus cannot function in the stead
of the valid Imo State Council of Ndi Eze."

It will be recalled that for joining HRH Eze (Dr) Cletus Ilomuanya in
welcoming former President Goodluck Jonathan to Imo State sometime in
March this year while Jonathan was still the sitting president, a
panel was set up to investigate over 50 monarchs, although the state
government had earlier suspended four monarchs and had gone ahead to
invite 50 others to face what they called 'fact-finding panel'.

The release also stated that an affidavit deposed by HRH Eze Donald
Nnabue on behalf of 39 other monarchs in suit №: HOW/313/2015, the
monarchs stated that over 400 traditional rulers in Imo State welcomed
then-President Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, now President,
when they both visited in March 2015. They wondered why the state
government now singled out about 50 of them for vendetta using an
illegal body headed by Eze Ohiri and constituted unlawfully in
contravention in extant provision of law № 6 of 2006 Imo State of
Nigeria Traditional Rulers, Autonomous Communities and Allied Matters.

However, the aggrieved monarchs sought declaration from the court that
the purported Imo State Council of Ndi Eze as presently constituted by
only 27 members be dissolved.

Meanwhile, a mild drama of sort played out at the Secretariat of Imo
State Council of Ndi Eze along the All Seasons Hotel road last
Wednesday, as the court bailiff stormed the secretariat to effect
service of court summons on Eze Sam Ohiri and members of the
contentious fact-finding panel.

On sighting the bailiff led by some of the aggrieved traditional
rulers, Eze Ohiri quickly ran into his office and locked himself up
while members of the panel dispersed immediately and took to their
heels. All telephone calls put across to Eze Ohiri were not picked as
the embattled monarch remained incommunicado.

—Trumpeta