High Court sitting in Enugu State, yesterday, has passed some insulting ruling on the case regarding the Igweship tussle of Mburumbu community.
Justice C.O. Ajah was direct and blunt in telling Mr Jerry Onuokaibe the truth. He specifically said Onuokaibe’s claim to Igweship of Mburumbu was illegal, and that he must, with immediate effect, stop parading himself as the Igwe.
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The traditional stool of Mburubu, a community in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, has been subject of lingering controversy. Two groups – Mburubu General Assembly and Mburumbu Town Union – have been at each other’s throat in a brutal fight for control.
But Mburubu General Assembly, obviously more influential within the community, overpowered their opponents and installed Mr Jerry Onuokaibe as the Igwe. The other group sued, dragging both the Igwe and those who installed him to the city so the “learned” people could decide the community’s fate once and for all.
Justice Ajah’s ruling has reverted almost everything that has to do with the tussle. Describing Mburumbu General Assembly as a “faceless organisation and interloper,” the judge also informed its members that their actions were both illegal and invalid.
The Court upheld the 2003 Constitution of the Mburubu Town Union, and rejected the purported 1976 constitution Onuokaibe and his group presented.
Uhuegbe village, the second in the order of seniority, and not Umunafor village where Onuokaibe hails from, is the rightful people to pick Igwe, the Court clarified from the legitimate constitution.
It also mandated Mburumbu Town Union to conduct Igweship election within 21 days, and charged the Ministry of Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs to oversee the whole process.
Despite awarding victory to the town union, the judge proceeded to hit Mburumbu General Assembly with a fine of ₦500,000 for “breeching public peace,” saying the fine served as deterrent to others who may be inclined to act as reckless.
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