Chief Innocent Iwuji & Ors V. Governor Of IMO State & Ors (2014)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

UWANI MUSA ABBA AJI, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an interlocutory appeal against the decision of Honourable Justice A.O.H. Ukachukwu of the High Court of Imo State in Suit No. HOW/157/2005 delivered on the 23rd May, 2005.

The Appellants as Plaintiffs vide a writ of summons dated and filed on the 3/6/2003 instituted a suit against the Respondents as Defendants and claim declaratory and injunctive reliefs as follows:-

1. A DECLARATION that the 6th and 7th Defendants are bound by a popular and democratic decision of the generality of the Nnemere Mpam people made on 1st January, 2003, to set up a Constitution Drafting Committee to draft a new Constitution; to have the constitutional draft thoroughly debated by all the people of Nnemere Mpam, home and abroad, and to embark on the process of identification, selection and presentation of the Eze-elect through a democratic process based on the new constitution after its approval.
2. A DECLARATION that consequent upon the manipulations and deliberate failure or refusal of the 6th and 7th Defendants and their Executive Committee members to convene mandatory general or emergency meetings with requisite notifications to Nnemere Mpam citizens home and abroad including the Plaintiffs for the mandatory First, Second and Third Readings and public debates on the said draft constitution, the Nnemere Mpam Autonomous Community lacks any constitution upon which any identification, selection and presentation of the 5th Defendant or anyone else for that matter as the Eze-elect of the community can be based.
3. A DECLARATION that the 6th and 7th Defendants have no powers or authority whatsoever to reverse the said democratic decision to identify, select and present a candidate for the exalted office of Eze Nnemere Mpam through the democratic process of free and fair election, or to impose their own candidate on the people of Nnemere Mpam Autonomous community outside the agreed due process.
4. A DECLARATION that the imposition of one of the contestants, Chief P.I.P Onu (5th Defendant) on the Nnemere Mpam people by the 6th and 7th Defendants in a secret, hastily-arranged meeting of 22nd February, 2003 without any reference whatsoever to the people of Nnemere Mpam or even the 1st Plaintiff contrary to the Resolution of the Nnemere Mpam Aladinma or people’s general assembly of 1st January, 2003, amounts to a gross violation of the 1st Plaintiff’s right to fair-hearing and natural justice which a democratic process of free and fair election would have afforded.
5. A DECLARATION that the 6th and 7th Defendant’s deliberate failure to summon the mandatory monthly general meetings of Nnemere Mpam Town Union (which holds on the last Saturday of every month) or even to notify the Plaintiffs and other Nnemere Mpam people resident in Lagos and elsewhere on the subject of debating and approving the new draft constitution amounts to a denial of the 1st Plaintiff’s right to a democratic process leading to a free and fair election of candidates for the office of Eze-elect for the new Autonomous Community.
6. A DECLARATION that the afore-mentioned anti-democratic and anti-social acts of the 6th and 7th Defendants, if not reversed by this honourable Court, will occasion a terribly injustice on the candidacy of the 1st Plaintiff and will deny the 1st Plaintiff the fair chance to participate in the envisaged democratic process of constitution-making and ultimately the chance to present himself in a democratic process of election for the purpose of being made the Eze-elect of the community.
7. A DECLARATION that the 1st Plaintiff as a bonafide indigene of Nnemere Mpam Autonomous Community and a reputable citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is entitled to every protection afforded by the provisions of the Chapter 4 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and the rules of natural justice and therefore equal opportunity to compete with the 5th Defendant on a level-playing field, devoid of any surprises, horse-trading or related disadvantages foisted on the system by the 6th and 7th and Defendants.
8. A DECLARATION that the secret appointment of the 5th Defendant by the 6th and 7th Defendants and their cronies on 22nd February, 2003 without the due process or any notification whatsoever to the Plaintiffs and other stake-holders especially the 1st Plaintiff who is the favourite contestant for the Ezeship stool of the community constitutes a gross breach of the fair-hearing provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and the rules of natural justice in relation to the 1st Plaintiff and is therefore unwarranted, unconstitutional null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
9. A DECLARATION that the purported presentation of the 5th Defendant by the 6th and 7th Defendants to 4s Defendant in April, 2003 without a CONSTITUTION debated and approved by the people of Nnemere Mpam Autonomous Community as required by the Traditional Rulers and Autonomous Communities Law of 1999 (Imo State); without any notice of meeting for that purpose to all the relevant stake-holders and the general Nnemere Mpam public and without the due process of Law and custom of the people is unwarranted, illegal, unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
10. AN ORDER OF PERMANENT INJUNCTION to restrain the 2nd Defendant by himself, his agents, workers or privies, howsoever from accepting and or processing any application for Recognition of the 5th Defendant as Eze of Nnemere Mpam Autonomous Community.
11. AN ORDER OF PERMANENT INJUNCTION to restrain the 1st Defendant by himself, his servants, agents, Commissioners, Advisers, privies or howsoever from accepting any application from the 2nd, 3rd and 5th Defendants or any of them or their agents, servants, workmen or privies for the purpose of granting to the 5th Defendant RECOGNITION as the Eze of Nnemere Mpam Autonomous Community.
12. AN ORDER OF PERMANENT INJUNCTION to restrain the 1st Defendant by himself, his agents, workers, privies or howsoever from issuing a Certificate of Recognition to the 5th Defendants as the Eze of the Nnemere Mpam Autonomous Community.
13. AN ORDER OF PERMANENT INJUNCTION to restrain the 5th Defendant from parading himself either by conduct, writing or speech-making including presiding over any communal meetings or gatherings as Eze-elect of Nnemere Mpam Autonomous Community.
14. AN ORDER on the 6th and 7th Defendants to submit the DRAFT CONSTITUTION in question to a public debate and requisite First, Second and Third Readings at well-publicized general meetings of Nnemere Mpam people according to that community’s age-long convention, for approval or rejection.
15. AN ORDER on the 6th and 7th Defendants to convene without any further delay after proper notification to all relevant stake-holders and citizens of Nnemere Mpam home and abroad, a general meeting for the purpose of identifying, selecting and presenting a suitable person for the office of Eze-elect for the community through the democratic process of free and fair election as decided by Aladinma Nnemere Mpam (i.e. the people’s general assembly) on 1st January, 2003.

The Appellants by their writ of summons are seeking some reliefs including an Order of injunction restraining the 1st Defendant/Respondent from according recognition to the 5th Defendant/Respondent as the Traditional Ruler (Eze) of Nnemere Mpam Autonomous Community in the Ahiazu-Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State and an Order of injunction restraining the 5th Defendant/Respondent from parading himself as the Traditional Ruler (Eze) of Nnemere Mpam Autonomous Community pending the determination of the substantive suit.

The writ of summons, statement of claim and motion on notice for injunction dated 6th June, 2003 and filed on the same date were served on the Respondents respectively.

The 5th, 6th & 7th Respondents filed their joint statement of defence dated 14th July, 2003 on the 16th July, 2003, which was served, on the Appellants, while the 1st – 3rd Respondents filed a motion on Notice dated 16th September, 2003 and filed on the same date challenging the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court to entertain the suit.

During the pendency of the suit and the application for injunction, the 1st Respondent accorded recognition and gave staff of office to the 5th Respondent as the Traditional Ruler (Eze) of Nnemere Mpam Autonomous Community in the Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State.

The Appellants, upon the recognition of the 5th Respondent filed a Motion on Notice dated 21st November, 2004 and filed on 23rd November, 2004, seeking an Order of the Honourable trial Court to set aside the said recognition accorded the 5th Respondent Chief P. I. Onu by the 1st Respondent as Traditional Ruler of Nnemere Mpam Autonomous Community.

Before the motion to set aside the recognition of the 5th Defendant could be heard, the 5th – 7th Respondents through their Counsel filed a Notice of preliminary objection dated 13th December, 2004 and filed on the same date seeking an Order striking out the motion to set aside the recognition for want of jurisdiction.

In a considered ruling delivered on 23rd May, 2005, the learned trial judge upheld the preliminary objection and held that the Court lacked jurisdiction to set aside the recognition of the 5th Respondent by the 1st Respondent during the pendency of the suit.

It is against the said ruling that the Appellants filed a Notice of Appeal dated 4th June, 2005 and filed 6th June, 2005 containing three (3) grounds of Appeal. The grounds of Appeal are hereunder reproduced without their particulars.

GROUNDS OF APPEAL

Ground One

The learned trial Judge erred in law when it failed to set aside the recognition of the 5th Defendant on the ground that an objection as to his competence to hear the substantive suit before him had not been determined.