Senior Advocate asks NASS to probe Enugu monarch for human rights violations

Oru Leonard 

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chukwuemeka Ofodile has petitioned the National Assembly over frivolous allegations, constant harassment, intimidation and flagrant violation of the rights of his clients who are prominent sons of Agunese Mmaku Autonomous Community in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.

Ofodile specifically demanded for proper official investigation of the roles played by the traditional ruler of Agunese community, His Royal Highness Igwe Cyprian Maduabuchi Nevobasi and security personnel, in the ordeal of his clients, namely, Vincent Okafor Esq., Theophilus Chukwu, David Okeke, Chief Okeke Emmanuel Uwa, Chief Ochie Moses Cuka, Chief Okolie James Ikegwuonu and Chief Simeon Ogbonna Okike.

He equally asked for the investigation of the roles played by the security officers involved in the entire saga of arrests and incarceration of his clients, particularly the involvement of two officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (C.I.D) of the Enugu State Police Command, Blessing Oguche and one Nnamdi, to see whether due process was followed.

The petitioner who is the son of a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, late Chike Ofodile SAN, urged the two chambers of the National Assembly-Senate and House of Representatives- to employ their good offices to order appropriate investigation, make findings and order the immediate release of his clients, who are still being incarcerated at the Enugu Correctional Centre for bailable charges, most of which are baseless.

These requests were contained in separate petitions by the senior lawyer to the Chairmen of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Public Petitions, which were all dated September 19, 2024 and made available to journalists in Abuja.

The petitions were copied to Senator Osita Ngwu representing Enugu West senatorial district, and member representing Aninri/Awgu/Oji River federal constituency, Hon. Dr. Anayo Onwuegbu, respectively.

Recounting the ordeal of his clients in the documents sighted by this reporter, Ofodile noted that since Igwe Nevobasi ascended the throne over 20 years ago, Agunese community has been engulfed in persistent unrest and instability, stressing that under his leadership, the community has not experienced lasting peace or witnessed the implementation of genuine policies aimed at development or progress, but series of fabricated accusations, deceit, fraudulent control of the community account, armed thuggery and internal conflicts.

According to Ofodile, the monarch who resides primarily in South Africa and only visits the community occasionally, has continuously failed to contribute meaningfully to the growth and development of the town, but on the contrary, used manipulative tactics to claim credits for projects and advancements made by the progressive individuals within the community who are truly dedicated to its development.

The petitioner attributed the actions of the monarch, which only served to stifle progress and incite discord among the people, to his revenge mission against 90 percent of the indigenes who are strongly opposed to his ambition to rule the community as a result of his past.

The petition reads in part: “Note that sometime in 2022, HRH igwe Cyprian Novebasi maliciously attempted to mislead and weaponise government agencies by filing a baseless petition to the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security departments, falsely accusing 16 prominent men of Agunese community, including our clients whose names appear in this petition, of sponsoring the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and the Eastern Security Network (ESN).

“This was a blatant attempt to silence these young and progressive individuals who opposed his oppressive rule and to force them into submission or exile. When his deceitful plot was exposed and rejected, he was compelled to retract the false allegations. However, since his initial scheme failed, HRH Igwe Cyprian Maduabuchi Nevobasi has now resorted to fabricating new charges, accusing these same men of inciting local conflict and violence, this time, leveraging corrupt police officers to arrest and intimidate them.

“His actions are clear abuse of his traditional office, as he continues to mislead authorities and manipulate the justice system to prosecute these individuals for standing against his tyranny. We urge the authorities to see through these repeated attempts to use false claims as a means of consolidating his power and oppressing his critics.”

The lawyer insisted that it was the calculated efforts of the monarch to strike mercilessly on gentlemen of goodwill in the community, by using the Nigeria Police Force and the DSS to haunt, harass, intimidate, arrest, and instigate baseless court charges to instill fear in them and other well-meaning members of the community.

He noted that since after the December 30, 2021 town union elections, which the monarch thwarted and cancelled over alleged security threat, members of the community speaking up against him and his perceived rivals have been framed, arrested and accused of all kinds of trumped up charges.

He maintained that his clients were being persecuted because they insisted that the town union should function freely and independently, while it works in concert with the traditional stool for the overall development of the community.

He stated that officers of the Nigeria Police Force arrested Mr. Theophilus Chukwu and he was arraigned on May 8, 2024, and then released on August 13, 2024, only for him to be re-arrested on the same day and re-arraigned for the second time on August 20, 2024.

According to him, Chukwu’s offence was aligning with those opposed to the sale of community land by the monarch, and his philanthropy and goodwill, having mobilised illustrious sons of the community to pool their meager resources together to assist their neglected community in carrying out some self-help projects, such as the renovation of dilapidated schools and maintenance of rural roads, which did not appear to have gone down well with the traditional ruler.

The petitioner stated that Vincent Okafor as a private legal practitioner had filed a fundamental rights action on behalf of Mr. Theophilus Chukwu at the Port Harcourt Federal High Court, and he was arrested and detained.

“The officers of the Nigeria Police Force arrested Barrister Vincent Okafor on September 6, 2024. When the charge was shown to Vincent Okafor, he expressed complete surprise, saying he was not even in the village. On the day in question, August 13, 2024, he was in faraway Lagos, making an appearance for a client in charges No. M/44/2024-C.O.P vs. Odinaka Orji.

“Mr. David Okeke was brought to the Enugu State Correctional Centre without arraignment or remand order. The day they took him to court, the business of the court was over. They took him to State C.I.D Enugu detention. The State C.I.D rejected him and they took him to Enugu Correctional Centre.”