Trouble looms as Ohanaeze Ndigbo splinter group calls for Nwodo’s arrest, probe
THE splinter group of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Sunday, called for the arrest of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation’s President-General, Chief Nnia Nwodo, and other principal officers, past and present for running “an entity unknown to law”.
The group also called on security authorities to stop Ohanaeze Ndigbo being led by Chief Nnia Nwodo “from conducting any election whatsoever into the offices of the illegal association in any of the states of the federation since the association is an illegal body;
“Investigate the accounts and activities of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and all monies collected from individuals, governors and highly-exposed political personalities; “Arrest, interrogate and prosecute the principal officers of the said Ohanaeze Ndigbo present and past, for running an illegal association.”
The splinter group, known as Ohanaeze Ndigbo General Assembly, made these demands in a petition by its counsel, Mr. Amobi Nzelu, copied the Police, Department of State Services, DSS, and the governors of Abia, Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo and Rivers states. The petition read in part: “For proper appreciation of the issues to be canvassed in this letter, it will be appropriate to state briefly the facts of this case to enable you, the IGP and others, to be in a comfortable, if not in a confident position, to decisively act on this matter.
“Our client is registered under Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act and issued with Certificate of Incorporation No. 144918 on February 28, 2020 by the CAC. “By virtue of the incorporation of our client, it is now saddled with the responsibility of piloting the affairs of Igbo as contained in the Articles and Memorandum of Association filed at the CAC on their behalf. “For more than two decades, the people of Igbo extraction branded themselves as ‘Ohanaeze Ndigbo’ and this group or association, at various times, have been led by prominent people in some of the states that constitute Igbo-speaking areas.
“However, it has been discovered that the said ‘Ohanaeze Ndigbo’ now being led by Chief Nnia Nwodo was not duly registered in accordance with the extant provisions of the law, nor was any Article and Memorandum of Association defining or circumscribing their functions filed and registered on their behalf with the relevant authorities.
“The only import from the evolving scenario or better still the only inference to be drawn is that Ohanaeze Ndigbo being led by Chief John Nnia Nwodo is not a registered organisation and as such is an illegal association and cannot transact any business they are transacting now. “Ohanaeze Ndigbo led by Chief John Nnia Nwodo has no certificate of incorporation and as such is an entity unknown to law. “The only reasonable deduction for the group being unregistered is that it is an illegal body and all her activities null and void.” Vanguard
