The Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership crisis has taken another dimension following the trial of Eze Uche Dimgba, Chief Oliver Akubueze and Chief Sunday Ossai at the Lagos High Court for contempt of Court over a kangoroo election they conducted against the authentic Ohanaeze President, Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that the trio were issued Form 48 and 49 to appear in Court before Justice L.A.M. Folami of the Lagos State High Court to explain why they will not be sent to prison for disobeying the Court judgment by going ahead to conduct an illegal election and declaring Chief Sunday Ossai as President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State whereas Chief Ogbonna Aguene had a subsisting Judgment in his favour.
The trio, Ossai, Akubueze and Dimgba were alleged by Chief Ogbonna Aguene to have disregarded the Court judgment by conducting the purported election. While Akubueze, who was part of the Court Consent Judgment went ahead to conduct the election, Chief Ossai was the beneficiary while Dimgba was linked to the election for representing a faction of Ohanaeze at the National level, which purportedly supervised the alleged illegal election.
The matter came up on Tuesday 15th November, 2022, for hearing but was later adjourned till Thursday 24th November, 2022, for further hearing.
P.M.EXPRESS had reported that through the Consent Judgment pronounced by the Lagos State High Court dated 12th April, 2022, Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene was declared as the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State.
In the suit filed in 2018 before the Ikeja High Court over the annulment of Ohanaeze Ndigbo election in Lagos State, by a faction led by Chief Mike Chidedelu on behalf of his group against Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene’s faction, he asked the Court to reinstate and recognized his faction but it was finally resolved with terms of settlement as Consent Judgment before the Court.
Part of the judgment included that apart from Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene, who was retained as the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State, other Executive members elected with him were dissolved and fresh election was ordered for the vacant positions by the Court. The Court also ordered that the factions be merged and they were eligible to contest for the elective positions that were declared vacant by the judgment.
The Court directed that the Electoral Committee set up by Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene led by Chief Oliver Akubueze be retained and conduct election for both the Local Government areas and State Executives with the bylaws of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State.
However, they disregarded the Court Judgment and went ahead to conduct another election and declared Chief Ossai as another President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State thereby causing leadership crisis in Lagos State.
As the hearing of the matter has commenced, if Dimgba, Ossai and Akubueze fail to prove why they disregarded the Court Judgment and went ahead to conduct another election, they may be likely be sent to prison for Contempt of Court.