Despite a restraining order by an Owerri High Court asking parties to respect the pendency of the suit brought before the court by 40 aggrieved traditional rulers, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state has directed the non-payment of monthly allowances to all the 40 Traditional Rulers, who instituted legal action against him and nine others.
The Court presided by Hon. Justice Ngozi Ukoha had on June 23, 2015, ordered Okorocha, Eze Samuel Ohiri and eight other defendants to respect the pendency of the suit before the Court by refraining from doing anything punitive against the 40 monarchs. The Court reiterated this order on July 8, 2015 when the matter also came up for hearing.
But last Monday, the embattled Eze Sam Ohiri who is laying claim to the Chairmanship of the State Council of Traditional Rulers despite several Court judgments to the contrary and ordered the withholding of the cheques of about 50 traditional rulers who have issues with the governor and the council, including the 40 who are in court and the four monarchs earlier suspended.
Our correspondent gathered that the punishment for the traditional rulers were categorized. The few in the list of 50 monarchs marked for sanction but who appeared before the Ohiri’s Panel will have their six months allowances seized, the 40 monarchs that went to court will not be paid for one year while the earlier four suspended first class monarchs will not be paid for two years. This, it was reliably revealed, will serve as deterrent to other traditional rulers in Imo State.
The 40 monarchs in court with the Governor have however vowed to pursue their case to a logical conclusion. According to one of them, Eze Donald Nnabue, this latest action is a pointer to what would have befallen them if they had appeared before the ‘Illegal Panel’ stating that the defendants had already concluded on what to do with them before inviting them to the panel.
He said that on Friday last week, they received a text message which read “please come on Monday for your April and May cheques at the Parliament”, but on getting there, they were bluntly told by the cashier that, “we have instruction not to pay you”. The 40 monarchs accused Eze Ohiri of ensuring that this punitive action against them are carried out to the letter but restated that they will not be deterred “This is a fight between justice and rule of law against injustice and impunity. We remain unshaken, “they said.
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