Court dethrones Obong Of Calabar

THE Calabar High Court presided over by Justice Obojor Ogar, Monday, declared the stool of Obong of Calabar vacant and told the current occupant Edidem Ekpo Abasi Otu not to parade himself as the Obong of Calabar

A one time Minister of Finance during the late Gen. Sani Abacha military regime, Etubom Anthony Ani and four others had in April 2008 dragged Edidem Abasi Otu and eight others to court challenging the selection and proclamation of the dethroned Obong as the rightful occupant of the throne.

Etubom Ani had in his claim through his counsel Mr. Agi, SAN, sought a declaration that “the presentation and/selection of the 4th defendant (Edidem Otu) who was Chairman of the screening committee for the selection of the 4th Defendants as the Obong of Calabar elect is contrary to natural justice, equity and good conscience.

He also claimed “That the purported selection of the 4th Defendant as the the Obong of Calabar-elect, who is from Adiabo is contrary to the decision of the Western Calabar Traditional Rulers Council that Ikoneto has the exclusive right to produce the next Obong of Calabar and the 4th Defendant is not qualified to be selected and/ or appointed the Obong of Calabar.”

Ani sought a declaration that the Etubom Traditional Rulers Council of the Obong’s Palace refusal to entertain the complaint of the Plaintiff violated their right to fair hearing and an injunction restraining the government from according recognition and/ or giving staff of office to the 4th defendant.

Delivering judgment that lasted for about two hours, Justice Obojor Ogar restrained the Obong from parading himself as the Obong of Calabar until proper election has been done and also restrained the Etubom Traditional Council, from excluding Etubom Anthony Ani and Mbiabo Ikoneto from any election or selection of an Obong.

Reacting to the ruling, counsel to the Etubom Traditional Council Mr. Paul Eba said they were still studying the judgment, though, he noted that the judgment did not make any order for the withdrawal of the certificate of recognition from the state government that had earlier given recognition to him, meaning that the “Obong is still on the throne.”

Mr. Eba said the Obong still occupies his throne and that they will study the judgment to go for appeal and described the judgment as “a declaration judgment that Ikoneto has right to contest. Definitely we are going on appeal to determine some issues raised by the Judge”.

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C/River Speaker Sworn In As Acting Governor

The Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Right Hon. Larry Odey has been sworn-in as the acting governor of Cross River State.

Hon. Odey was sworn-in by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Dorothy Iyamba Idem following the sack of Governor Liyel Imoke and four other governors in the country by the supreme court on Friday over tenure elongation.

Odey 51, was born in Ugaga in Yala local government area of the state and represents Yala state constituency in the House. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History/Education in 1985 from the University of Port Harcourt and Masters in Public Administration as well as Masters of Science in International Relations both from the University of Calabar in 2005 and 2010 respectively.

Speaking shortly after taken the oath of office and allegiance, Odey in a sober mood said, ”We are all aware of the circumstances that brought us here, the supreme court judgment, it is a sober moment for us. All things being equal, we thank God and have confidence that INEC will come up with a time table for us to re-elect our principal, Senator Imoke, so that he can come and occupy his seat”

He recalled that Senator was removed from office in 2008 and was re-elected and that make the party more stronger than what it was.

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Cross River Releases 81-Year-Old, HIV Patients From Prison

Calabar — The Chief Judge of Cross River State, Justice Dorothy Iyamba Idem, yesterday set free an 81 year old man, Chief Ata Okon Aqua, who was in prison over robbery when she undertook a visit to the Afokang Prison in Calabar South Local Government Area of the state.

She also set free 23 others, including a pregnant woman and people suffering from HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. Justice Iyamba Idem ordered that the pregnant woman, who was detained for being in possession of 600 grammes of Indian hemp should be released because of the severe bleeding she was experiencing, with a warning that she should be of good behaviour. The Chief Judge also set free three HIV positive patients, whose cases have developed into full blown AIDS.

Justice Idem, who lamented that some cases drag on for long due to lack of police records, said it was a shame that the police and the office of the DPP were not living up to their responsibilities as prosecuting agents.

"It is a shame that we do not have records or files on some of the cases that have been under investigation for over two years. The detention of such people is tantamount to unlawful incarceration and as such, some of them have to be set free," she said.

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