Tensions are escalating in the Umuekwune Obollo-Afor autonomous community of Udenu Local Government Area, Enugu State, over plans to conduct an Igweship election despite a court order halting the process.
Community members have vowed to resist what they call an attempted imposition of a monarch, accusing Enugu State Commissioner for Chieftaincy Matters, Deacon Okey Ogbodo, of defying the court order.
Ogbodo reportedly scheduled the election for November 4, 2024, despite the ministry’s acknowledgment of the court’s restraining order, received on September 23, 2024.
Addressing journalists in Enugu on Saturday, Chief Arua Melitus, a community leader, expressed dismay over the alleged disregard for the court’s directive. “This is unprecedented. When I heard about plans to conduct the election, I thought it was a joke,” Melitus stated. “I know Governor Peter Mbah, a lawyer, would not endorse such actions. The Commissioner should be called to order.”
Melitus appealed to the governor, security agencies, religious groups, and human rights organizations to hold the Commissioner accountable should any unrest arise from the dispute.
He urged residents to stay calm, emphasizing that the community would not accept the results of what he described as an “undemocratic imposition.”
In a show of solidarity, another community elder, Prince M.O. Agu, reassured residents that the law would prevail.
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