Court hears Ohakim’s suit against Ohanaeze leaders today

By GORDI UDEAJAH, Umuahia

An Imo State High Court in Owerri will, today, hear the suit filed by former governor of the state, Dr. Ikedi Ohakim, against Ohanaeze Ndigbo parallel executives.

Aloy Ejimakor, who filed the suit, said it (suit) is seeking the court’s order to commit the respondents, namely: Richard Ozobu, Chidi Ibeh, Uche Okwukwu and Okechukwu Isiguzoro, to prison for having disobeyed the order of the court made on January 5, 2021.

Ejimakor told The Guardian that the court order, which the respondents disobeyed, had restrained them from conducting a parallel election into offices in Ohanaeze outside the election organised by an electoral committee set up by former Ohanaeze President-General, Chief Nnia Nwodo, which the conducting committee was headed by Chief Gary Igariwey.

He said that the hearing notice had been served on the contemnors/respondents by substituted means, including publication in a national newspaper adding that Ejimakor further said that it was this restrained order that had enabled the electoral committee set up by Nwodo to conduct the election from which Prof. George Obiozor emerged as the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

According to him, Ohakim stated in his sworn deposition that the court had restrained the respondents and their cohorts from “interfering in any manner whatsoever with the election of officers of Ohanaeze Ndigbo or from conducting a parallel election of the officers of Ohanaeze pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction fixed for January 11, 2021.”

But that the respondents disobeyed the said court order by unlawfully conducting a parallel election of the officers of Ohanaeze in which Okwukwu was purportedly elected Deputy President-General of Ohanaeze with Ibeh and Isiguzoro also purportedly elected President and Secretary-General, respectively.

Ejimakor added that Ohakim further told the court in his suit that by the respondents ignoring the court order, parading themselves as officers of Ohanaeze and shutting the group’s secretariat, they (respondents) had committed contempt of court and indirectly saying that the court lacks the powers to restrain them from continuing on this path of disobedience of the said court order, thus necessitating his (Ohakim) application for their committal by the court. (The Guardian)

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