"Royalty Locked Up" Court Remand Abia Monarch
An Abia State Customary Court sitting at Obihie in Ukwa West Local has ordered the arrest and detention of the traditional ruler of Etitioha-Ipu West, Eze Obioma Nworgu, for refusal to appear before the court in a committal proceeding.
An Aba-based legal practitioner, Chika Uhuaba, had earlier petitioned Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State against the traditional ruler over his alleged forceful entry into his clients’ property and disobedience to court order.
In the petition entitled: “Abuse of Ezeship stool by HRH Eze Obioma Nworgu of Etitioha Ipu, Ukwa West Local Government,” Uhuaba narrated how Nworgu used his position as the traditional ruler of the community to trespass on a parcel of land situate at Umuegwusi, Owasa Asa and belonging to the Nwoke family, his clients and appealed to the governor to call the monarch to order.
The court, presided over by its Chairman, N. Amalaha, ordered the arrest and detention of the traditional ruler following his refusal to appear in the said court in a committal proceeding instituted by one of his subjects, Friday Nwoke.
Nwoke had approached the court to order the traditional ruler to show reason why he should not be committed to prison for flagrantly disobeying the court’s order, which in 1994 restrained the monarch and his brother, Agu Nworgu, from trespassing further on the plaintiff’s farmland and swamp at Umuegwusi village.
The court was told that Nworgu, who did not appeal against the judgment, had in 2001, when he became the traditional ruler of the area, used his office to forcefully re-enter the said parcel of land, necessitating the plaintiff to ask the court to serve the traditional ruler Form 48 (notice of consequence of disobedience to order of court).
Despite the service of Form 48, the monarch was said to have persistently absented himself from court, which made the court to order his arrest and detention till October 3, when the matter was adjourned for further hearing.
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