The Oba Eminent Citizens group has demanded that the Anambra State Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Community Affairs Commissioner, Hon Tony Collins Nwabunwanne, make public the court order allegedly barring the Oba people from conducting an Igweship election.
During a live television interview, the Commissioner claimed that the community had disobeyed a court order preventing them from holding the election to choose a new Igwe. He also stated that anyone who claims to be the Igwe of Oba would face arrest by security operatives.
However, the group has challenged the Commissioner’s assertion, stating that he has failed to present the court order for public review. They argued that no such case exists in the Oba High Court, and the case referenced by the Commissioner was abandoned in April 2024. According to Chief Chinedu Igbokwe, a senior advocate, if a case is not followed for six months, it becomes invalid.
The group further stated that the Commissioner initially agreed to the election, proposing that it be moved to Saturday to accommodate civil servants, but later tried to prevent it by referring to an outdated and nullified case.
Oba Eminent Citizens is now calling on the Commissioner to provide the court order or injunction, if it exists, to prove that the election process that led to the election of HRM Augustine Chinedu Emelobe, the new Igwe, was faulty. They insist that the election was conducted according to the will of the Oba people and in full compliance with the law.
