The arraignment of the traditional ruler of Arochukwu Kingdom, Godwin Kanu, in Abia State, for alleged conspiracy, impersonation and conduct likely to breach public peace has stirred controversy in the South-east state.
Arochukwu is a kingdom comprising five clans in Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia.
Controversy
Mr Kanu was crowned as the Ninth King of the Arochukwu Kingdom on 20 October 2023 by the traditional ruler of Ibom Isii, Kanu Nwa Kanu.
A video clip showing the traditional being crowned was uploaded on YouTube on 22 October.
However, in mid-November 2022, the Royal Head of Arochukwu Kingdom, Oji Oji and Kanu Okoro, another palace official, announced in a statement that Eberechukwu Oji, a prince of the kingdom, had been selected as the new monarch for the kingdom.
The traditional ruler of Ibom Isii, Kanu Nwa Kanu, who performed the coronation of Mr Kanu as Ninth King of Arochukwu Kingdom was subsequently suspended allegedly by the Abia State Government.
Arraignment
Mr Kanu, the newly crowned monarch, was arrested and detained on 5 January after the traditional ruler reportedly released a New Year message to his people.
The monarch and others now at large face three counts of charges of impersonation, conspiracy to commit a felony and conduct likely to cause a breach of public peace, according to a court document obtained by this newspaper.
The alleged offences are punishable under Sections 516(A) (a), 484 of the Criminal Code, and CAP 80 Vol 3 Laws of Abia State 2005, the court document said.
The document dated 8 January indicated that the traditional ruler was arraigned at the Magistrate Court in Umuahia.
The case is being prosecuted by the State Commissioner of Police, according to the court document.
When contacted, the police spokesperson in Abia State, Maureen Chinaka, told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday evening that Mr Kanu was arrested in response to a petition against him which was dated 3 January.
Ms Chinaka, an assistant superintendent of police, said the petition was signed by the offices of the state solicitor-general, the state permanent secretary and Abia State Ministry of Justice.
The police spokesperson said the petitioners alleged that Mr Kanu “conducted himself in a manner likely to cause breach of peace” and also accused him of “criminal impersonation of authority.”
“After we got it (the petition), on the 4 January, we invited him, he did not oblige us. We got our warrant of arrest and we made our arrest,” she said.
She added that after the traditional ruler’s arrest, he sought bail which the court granted him.
The bail conditions, according to the police, were that he must present either his national or international passport, a surety who is a state or federal civil servant of not below grade 14 and a certificate of occupancy for a landed property in Abia State or the Federal Capital Territory.
“But he did not meet his bail conditions,” she stated.
Granting of bail
But the Magistrate Court, on Monday, granted the traditional ruler, Mr Kanu, bail on self-recognition and adjourned the case for hearing, according to a statement from the media team of the monarch.
Mr Kanu had been in detention for three days at the State Criminal Investigation Department of the police before the court granted him bail on Monday, the statement said.
PDP kicks
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State has condemned the arrest and arraignment of the traditional ruler.
In a statement by its Vice-Chairperson, Abraham Amah, the PDP accused Governor Alex Otti of Abia State of masterminding the arrest and series of assaults on the traditional ruler.
The party said it is concerned that Mr Otti “has not hidden his animus for present Eze Aroh, Eze Godwin Kanu Idei since he was crowned and has done everything to deride him and cause disrespect to the traditional stool of Aro Kingdom.”
It also accused the governor of suspending Eze Ibom Isii for performing the coronation of the Aro King and stopping the coronation ceremony of Eze Aro which was earlier billed to be held on 24 December.
“Even when Alex Otti set up a reconciliation committee headed by Chief Chikwe Udensi to find a lasting solution to the tussle, he was quick to disband the committee after just three days and announced his decision to appoint Eze Aro by himself, an act unknown in the annals of Aro history,” the PDP said.
The party said despite the advent of modern government, the power to select a king still rests on the people who only present such selected kings to the government for approval of the staff of office.
ALSO READ: Abia governor apologises over inability to pay pension arrears as promised
“It is most presumptuous, laughable, unsettling, insulting, discriminatory, anti-people and anti-tradition for Alex Otti to decide who becomes the Eze Aro, simply because he occupies the position of governor,” it said.
The PDP claimed that the governor has continued to harass Eze Aro because “his choice candidate did not meet many requirements of kingship, especially the fact that he (the governor’s candidate) cannot rule over his father who is still alive.”
The party called on the governor to stop meddling in the stool of Eze Aro by asking the court to withdraw all the charges against the traditional ruler.
Abia government reacts
Responding, the State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Uzor Nwachukwu, denied the allegations against Mr Otti.
Mr Nwachukwu spoke on Monday while briefing the reporters at the Government House in response to the allegations by the PDP.
“I want to say for the umpteenth time that the Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, does not have any interest in who emerges as the Eze Aro,” he said.
The commissioner, however, claimed that what happened was that the kingmakers in the Arochukwu Kingdom selected Mr Oji, one of the contestants as the new monarch for the kingdom, but the traditional ruler of Ibom Isii, Kanu Nwa Kanu, went to crown Mr Kanu as the Eze Aro.
He claimed the people of the area, consequently, wrote a petition to the state government.
“It was at that point that the governor told the Eze Ibom Isii, ‘please go back to the process, suspend what you are doing and follow the procedure as established by the tradition of your people,’” Mr Nwachukwu stated.
The commissioner said his office later suspended the traditional ruler for failure to rescind the coronation of Mr Kanu.
He said Governor Otti initially inaugurated a panel of enquiry to look into the case, but would later disband the panel and ask the parties involved to resolve the case within the community.
Mr Nwachukwu claimed the parties failed to resolve the matter and went ahead to fix different dates for coronation which prompted the state government to intervene.
“The governor told them, ‘Both of you should not go ahead. You should stop,’” he said, insisting that if Mr Otti had interest he would have backed the coronation of one over the other party.
Without mentioning names, the commissioner suggested that Mr Kanu went ahead to hold his coronation ceremony “in secret” despite a state government order against any coronation.
He said, to protect lives and properties in the state, the state government could not afford to allow individuals to take laws into their own hands.
Support PREMIUM TIMES’ journalism of integrity and credibility
Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.
For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.
By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all.
Donate
TEXT AD: Call Willie – +2348098788999
