Edumund Onyeama & Ors V. Engr. Dominic Obodoh (President-general, Eke Town Union) & Ors (2008)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

VICTOR AIMEPOMO O. OMAGE, J.C.A.

In this appeal the appellants seek the following (a) an order that “the learned trial judge failed to arrive at the proper conclusion after having found the constitution to be “spurious” and clearly went outside the realms of the contest before the court” consequently the appellants seek a reversal of the order of the court below which dismissed the plaintiff’s claim.

In the court below the plaintiffs had sued for themselves and on behalf of the people of Amankwo in Eke Community. The plaintiffs have sued the defendants for themselves and on behalf of the community excluding Amankwo Eke in Udi Local Government Area and claim as follows:-

“(1) A declaration that the document titled “The Constitution for the office of the traditional head as Chief of Eke Community is not the Eke Community Constitution regulating the selection, appointment and installation of a traditional ruler for Eke Community.

(2) A declaration that the defendants have no Constitutional or Statutory Authority to nominate, select, install or present a traditional ruler for Eke Community.

(3) An injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, servants, privies from selecting, nominating or installing a traditional ruler for Eke Community.”

In the exchange of pleadings in the court below, the appellant filed process and testified through two witnesses, while in their statement of defence, the defendants denied the depositions of the plaintiff and testified through three witnesses. Written addresses were submitted to the trial court. Below is the summary of the testimonies of both parties. The plaintiff averred that from the existence of Eke as a community its traditional rulership has resided in Amankwo Community as the most senior village and remained in the family of the 1st and 2nd Plaintiff. The 1st plaintiffs witness then gave the oral history of the emergence of Amankwo from Enugwu to Eke, whose eldest child – son is Amankwo, followed by Oma, Ogwui Enugu and Amaofia. Amankwo, the eldest inherited their father’s rulership and Chief spokesmanship, Amankwo had the responsibility of fixing dates for the celebration of two important cultural festivals in Eke namely Akwali and Nshi, while Oma fixed dates for other celebration, and was the factotum, Ogwui fixed and announced dates for other festival like Akani. All villages he said took their names from the sons of Eke.

Plaintiffs first witness and Onyeama Onwushi of the plaintiffs’ family was of Amankwo stock and belonged to the Denaeghom dynasty which emerged from the hereditary leadership of Amankwo village in the scheme of governance of Eke town. The Plaintiffs witnesses gave evidence of the lineage of Onyeama from 1850 as follows:-

(i) Achala Ishi-Ani; (ii) Amuba; (iii) Danaegon (iv) Eze Anomuhu 1850-1860 (v) Ozo Oji 1872-1895 (vi) Onwushi Nkata 1872-1895 (vii) Onyeama Onwushi 1895-1933 (viii) Henry Onyeama 1933-39 (ix) Michael Onyeama 1937-1998. He said the rulership of Eke is not rotational among the village groups. The 2nd PW echoing the testimony of the PW1 said the colonial masters who came in the 20th century utilized the orderly line of succession to set up their administration, and issued chieftancy warrant to Onyeama Onwushi in respect of Eke town. He said Oshie was the progenitor of the whole of Agbaja clan. Onyeama Onwushi as the direct descendant of Oshie wielded tremendous power and influence over the entire Agbaja clan. In 1917 Onyeama Onwushi was conferred with the title of paramount Chief of Agbaja clan. This is published in the Nigerian Gazette of 13th September, 1917.

Prior to 1850, up to 1998, No one challenged the right of the plaintiff in Eke, to nominate, select, install a traditional ruler in Eke community. In 1976, when the purported chieftancy constitution was made, Igwe Michael Onyeama of the family of the plaintiffs had been on the throne for 39 years. He never heard about the existence of the chieftancy constitution until he died in 1998. The plaintiffs’ deposed that there was never a time when a general meeting was called in Eke community for a committee to draw up a chieftancy constitution for Eke. The so called draft constitution was never sent to 19wes cabinet when Igwe Michael Onyeama was alive and the said draft constitution which purports to arrange for rotation of Igwe to the town of Eke banished aside the custom for the nomination and installation of the traditional ruler.

He concluded by saying the draft constitution is an adroit attempt to wrestle from the 1st – 2nd plaintiffs family their exclusive right to traditional stool of Eke. It was in recognition of this fact that the plaintiffs ignored the 1st defendants’ letter of 26th April in which the defendant reminded the plaintiff that the latter did not submit names of their representatives for selection of members of committee for selection of traditional ruler for Eke.

The two witnesses for the plaintiff deposed in line that each will rely on the said constitution and the letter inviting the plaintiff to send names of the committee. The plaintiff also offered to tender and found on the constitution of Eke town Union 1986, to show the constitution of the right of the defendants as affirmed of Eke town Union.

The defendants opened their defence by informing the court that the 2nd plaintiff is dead, and Chief Anochili the 1st plaintiff is from Amankwo, the person now nominated is from Oma village in Eke town, Amankwo being the first village has served its turn as the traditional ruler in Mr. Michael Onyeama. The joined 14th defendant who hails from Oma village is the person next entitled under the constitution to be the traditional ruler of Eke. The defendants deposed that they will rely and found on the Constitution for the office of the traditional head or Chief of Eke community dated 8/8/76.

The first defendant witness claims that the said document is genuine and authentic. The constitution the witness deposed was made up of representatives of the five villages who appointed an ad hoc committee in a meeting of the representatives which held a meeting in Eke market square on 13th July, 1976. Witness pleads the minutes of the committee which with the said constitution was admitted in evidence as exhibit and the constitution exhibit J.