Iwuorie Iheanacho & Ors Vs Mathias Chigere & Ors (2004)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

S.U. ONU, JSC

In this case which has to do with family status and the custody of Ofo (traditional staff), the Respondents were the Plaintiffs at the High Court, Orlu, Imo State wherein they claimed certain reliefs relating to the headship (“diokwara”) of Imeowerre, Isunjaba in the then Nkwerre/Isu Local Government Area of Imo State while the Appellants were the defendants.

After due trial upon the exchange of pleadings, the learned trial Judge, Oyudo J. entered judgment in favour of the Respondents.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, the Appellants appealed to the Court of Appeal Port Harcourt (hereinafter in the rest of this judgment referred to as the court below) which dismissed their appeal. They have now further appealed to the Supreme Court with leave.

The facts of the case may be briefly stated as follows: Both parties are from the Imeowere Section of Isunjaba town in Nkwere/lsu Local Government Area of Imo State of Nigeria while the Appellants are from Umudim Amafuin Imeowere. The Respondents, for their part, are from Ndiuha Imeowere.

It is common ground that they (both parties) have the same ancestor, Isu Njaba who had seven sons one of whom is Nwokedike, the ancestral father of both parties.

While the Appellants claimed that Nwokedike begat Nwaowere through (Imeowere) who in turn begat Okwarauhu the father of Dimola, the Appellants have maintained an unbroken line of Diokwaraship (headship) of Imeowere up to the present 6th Appellant a direct descendant of Nwaowere. The Respondents on the other hand, claimed through the same Nwaokedike as follows:

Nwokedike begat Imeowere the father of Uga. Uga begat Okeem, the father of Okwauhu and Okwaraji. Accordillg to the Respondents Okwauhu was Diokwara being the 1st son but he soon died childless. He was then succeeded by Okwaraji the Respondents’ direct ancestor.

It was also the case of the Respondent that along the line, when Okwaraji died, his first son Okwaigwe took over, but when Okwaigwe died he had no grown up son to take the position, then the position was temporarily given to his younger brother Okwaraihezue. Okwaraihezue continued its own lineage of diokwara through Arukwa, Anozie and finally Uzoma Amaechi.

In 1981, the Respondents through one Chigere Onwuzulike, the 1st Respondent’s father purportedly through an alleged arbitration oath-taking process take (sic) over from Uzoma as Diokwara and thereby restoring the line of the Okwaraji. The Appellants were not parties to this alleged customary arbitration/oath taking.

The Appellants denied that either Uzoma Amaechi or Chigere Onuzulike was ever a Diokwara.

It was common ground between the parties that some time in 1982 the Respondents summoned the Appellants to the Council of the Eze (Paramount) rulers of Izunba for a customary arbitration. The claims before the Eze-in-Council were

(i) a declaration that Okwarauhu was the ancestor of the Appellants and as such the Appellants had no right to perform any final burial rites for him.

(ii) An order that the “Ofo Diokwara” traditional symbol of authority of the Diokwara Imeowere be handed over to the Respondents by the Appellants.