Ogbunike Stool Crisis: Court Halts Selection Process, Sets May 16 for Hearing

A High Court sitting in the Otuocha Judicial Division of Anambra State recently restrained elders of Ogbunike community in Oyi Local Government Council from taking further steps toward the selection or installation of a new traditional ruler, pending the hearing and determination of a suit brought before it.

The interim order followed an ex parte motion filed by seven prominent community leaders — Chief Anene Osadebe (Akaeze Ogbunike), Chief Eric Anyaegbunam (Akajiani Ogbunike), Chief Aniweta Onunkwo (Ichele Ogbunike), Chief Ogochukwu Onyekwuluje (Ekwueme Ogbunike), Chief Obiefuna Oduche (Ugogbuzue Ogbunike), Chief Oduche Okafor (Mmililienyi Ogbunike), and Chief Afam Okeke (Agunechemba Ogbunike) —suing on behalf of themselves, the Igwe-in-Council, and the people of Ogbunike.

The plaintiffs are seeking to restrain three respondents—Ichie Tochukwu Obiakor, Ichie Nwafor Onyezia, and Mr. Hyacinth Maduka Agudosi—from proceeding with the selection and screening of any aspirant to the Igweship stool.
They accused the respondents of unilaterally publishing a timetable for the selection process, in alleged violation of the community’s 1978 Constitution governing traditional leadership.

According to court filings, the defendants failed to comply with specific provisions of the constitution, particularly Part III, Section 9 (subsections 1–4) and Section 20 (subsections 1a and 3), which outline the procedure for electing a traditional ruler.

The plaintiffs argue that any process not grounded in the constitutional framework is null and void.
“The 1978 Constitution is a binding instrument that regulates traditional leadership in Ogbunike. Any deviation from it is a constitutional infraction and an affront to the collective will of the people,” said plaintiffs’ counsel, Odili Emeka Izuchukwu, in a written address to the court.

In an affidavit sworn to by the first plaintiff, Chief Anene Osadebe, alongside an affidavit of urgency, the plaintiffs claim that following the demise of the former monarch, HRM John Ositadimma Umenyiora (Ezedioramma I), they assumed interim responsibility as custodians of Ogbunike’s traditions, pending the lawful selection of a new Igwe.

 They alleged that the first defendant was attempting to impose “one of his cronies” as traditional ruler in a process that sidesteps due process, warning that such an action could destabilise the community.

“The first defendant, driven by arrogance and desperation, has floated a timetable for the coronation of a new Igwe without regard for due process or the constitutional rights of the people,” the plaintiffs stated.

The applicants contend that they have demonstrated a legal right and triable issue to justify the interlocutory injunction. They argue that the balance of convenience and risk of irreparable harm weigh in their favour.

In his affidavit of urgency, Chief Osadebe—a retired civil servant and traditional Prime Minister of Ogbunike—further accused officials of the Ogbunike Progress Union (OPU) of acting unconstitutionally.

“Ogbunike Delegates Conference is the highest organ of governance of the town, and did not mandate the President-General of OPU to conduct any election or selection for a new Igwe for the town.”

The last Delegates Conference mandated the PG to convoke the members of the two factions of Ndichie Ogbunike as a condition precedent to selecting a new Igwe, a task that the PG has not achieved. He also claimed that the President of the Council of Ndi-Ichie/Ogbuefi has remained in office since 2016 though elected to a three-year term allegedly refusing to conduct fresh elections.

The court has slated May 16 for hearing of the substantive suit.