Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
The people of Ezumeri village in Oraifite, Ekwusigo Local Government Area, Anambra State, were in high spirit during the weekend over a recent court judgment in relation to the Igweship throne of the community.
A long standing dispute has been existing in the Oraifite, an autonomous community in Anaedo, following the coronation of American-based medical practitioner, Dr. Dan Udoji, in 2006, after the town’s traditional ruler, Igwe Udoji Udu Ubaka, passed on.
Udoji’s coronation gave rise to disagreement and legal battle in the community wherein Ezumeri village, one of the four quarters that make up the town held that the constitution of the town was bypassed in the process of deciding who becomes the next traditional ruler of the community.
The people of Ezumeri held that the traditional stool in the town was unanimously agreed to be rotational among the villages at the demise of the king and that it is the turn of another village to ascend the throne.
The ensuing legal battle lasted for 18 (eighteen) years before Tuesday April 18, 2023, when Justice Dennis Maduechesi who presided over the case with No. HN/216/2006 at the Nnewi High Court, in the state held that the traditional stool be decided under the existing mutual agreement and the Anambra Sate Chieftaincy Law.
This appears to be a relief and a new dawn for the people of Ezumeri who gathered at the home of Chief Obaa Obi Ezumeri to celebrate the landmark court victory.
Addressing newsmen, elders of Ezumeri village led by Chuks Muoma SAN, advised the towns traditional ruler to obey the court order and give way for the community to do the needful.
“In the past, we were told to go and select a traditional ruler with the exception of Obi of Onitsha. We came back and selected Udu Ubaka. We gave it to Ubaka because we knew that they desperately wanted it even when everybody knows we are the eldest village in Oraifite.
“Ubaka’s reign was successful and when he died, the people of the village where he came from claimed it was their inheritance hence their right to produce the next king. But it was not what we agreed on and the chieftaincy law of Anambra State did not provide for hereditary rulership; It is elective from quarter to quarter as the community agreed.
“Now, they decided that it would be hereditary because they are rich and more populous than us. But those attributes have nothing to do with the law. We went to court and after 18 years, we won. We placed evidence before the court and argued based on our evidence. We are not quarreling with anybody.
“Oraifite is made up of four quarters and the four quarters agreed on rotational leadership of the community. It is a case four brothers served with four pieces of meat. One of them took the whole of the meat and ran away; we had no option than to pursue him to return the meats,” Chuks Muoma said.
Describing the victory as divine justice, Charles Muoma, a legal luminary in the community said “What is good before God must be good before man and what is good before man man must be good before God. We went to court and after 18 years, we were vindicated.
“We have four quarters in Oraifite and an agreement for the traditional stool to be rotational coronating late Igwe …., but after the Igwe died, but unfortunately, the village that held it previously decided to hold tight to it as their divine right.
“The entire Oraifite unanimously agreed for the rotation and gave it to them because they were ready at that time. The next quarter that was supposed to take the throne is Ezumeri but they refused to hand over the Igweship throne to us. That was why we decided to head to court.”
Continuing, Muoma, a legal luminary said “they (Igwe Dan) reserve the right, as much as we know, to appeal the High court decision or even go to the Supreme Court. But I want to let them know also that we are ready for as long as they want to go. The justice that we seek for is that whatever the law promulgates is where we stand.
Also speaking, the President General, Community leader and Chairman of Ezumeri village, Chief Obiora Ofor, Nze Nonso Udeh, and Izuchukwu Enwerem, all thanked God for giving the community victory. They also noted that the people are happy and that the victory was deserved.
Meanwhile, Igwe Dan Udoji whose phone could not be reached had in the past, during interaction with newsmen, disclosed that the traditional stool of Oraifite is hereditary hence his emergence as the king.
