The Ndichie Ogbunike has filed a motion ex parte before the Anambra high court, seeking to restrain a faction of the Ndichie from taking further steps toward the selection or installation of a new Igwe Ogbunike.
Ogbunike is a town in the Oyi LGA of Anambra state.
The ex parte motion was filed by seven community leaders — Anene Osadebe (Akaeze Ogbunike), Eric Anyaegbunam (Akajiani Ogbunike), Aniweta Onunkwo (Ichele Ogbunike), Ogochukwu Onyekwuluje (Ekwueme Ogbunike), Obiefuna Oduche (Ugogbuzue Ogbunike), Oduche Okafor (Mmililienyi Ogbunike), and Afam Okeke (Agunechemba Ogbunike).
The suit was filed on behalf of themselves, the Igwe-in-Council, and the people of Ogbunike.
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The plaintiffs are seeking to restrain three respondents — Ichie Tochukwu Obiakor, Ichie Nwafor Onyezia, and 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 allegedly 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.
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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,” Odili Emeka Izuchukwu, the plaintiffs’ counsel, wrote in an address to the court.
In an affidavit sworn to by the first plaintiff, 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 traditions, pending the lawful selection of a new Igwe.
They allege that the first defendant is attempting to impose “one of his cronies” as a traditional ruler in a process that sidesteps due process, warning that such an action could destabilize the community.
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“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 said.
The court has slated April 16 for a hearing of the substantive suit.
