By Tunji Adedeji
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.
