The Director of Media at Arochukwu Royal Palace, in the Arochukwu community in Abia State, Mazi Patrick Asonye, has described the purported court order restraining His Eminence, Dr. Eberechukwu Oji, from parading himself as Eze Aro as laughable and misleading.
In a statement on Monday, the Media Director disclosed that the ruling was an injunctive order purposely misrepresented to cause confusion and chaos in the kingdom.
According to him, an appeal with a stay of execution and a motion to set aside the ruling delivered by Justice Chido Nwakanma has been filed.
Asonye made this position known while reacting to a publication allegedly restraining the newly installed monarch.
The statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to a 10-paragraph press release titled ‘Court Update on Eze Aroship’ dated August 1, 2024, and signed by a certain Mazi Dr. Agodi Kanu, who claimed to be Director of Palace Communication, a non-existent position at the palace.
Ordinarily, we would not have bothered to dignify the purveyor of falsehood with a response, but for the benefit of Umu Aro and the public who might be deceived by the antics associated with a dying horse struggling with its last kicks. We wish, therefore, to make the following clarifications:
The judge who gave the July 31, 2024, ruling at the High Court of Umunneochi had previously demonstrated obvious bias in the matter of the Eze Aro legal tussle, which necessitated a written petition against him on July 8, 2024. His alleged relationship with the immediate past administration of Abia State is one instance.
Secondly, it has been proven that some disgruntled politicians of Aro extraction are the sponsors of this legal mischief, hoping to latch onto the Eze Aro throne tussle to revive their dying political careers at the expense of corporate Aro interests. They will not succeed.
Sequel to the petition, the Chief Judge of Abia State, Hon. Justice Lilian Abai, directed the presiding judge, Justice Chido Nwakanma, to return the case file to the Office of the CJ for reassignment.
It is pertinent to note that the same Justice Nwakanma had made attempts to scuttle the coronation ceremony of His Eminence, Dr. Eberechukwu Oji, on July 27, 2024, by abridging the earlier date of ruling from July 31, 2024, to July 19, 2024.
Sensing that Justice Nwakanma was probably up to some mischief, the legal team of Eze Aro, Dr. Eberechukwu Oji, petitioned the Chief Judge of Abia State on the matter. Sadly, Justice Nwakanma disregarded the CJ’s directive to return the case file and instead delivered a laughable ruling on the earlier scheduled date of July 31, 2024, without sending a Hearing Notice to the Eze Aro legal team as is procedurally required by law.
In view of the above, Umu Aro and the public should note the following about the ruling of July 31, 2024, which has been purposely misinterpreted to cause confusion in the Arochukwu kingdom:
The ruling by Justice Chido Nwakanma is an injunctive order that has already been appealed; a stay of execution and a motion to set aside have been promptly filed. It is not a final judgment of the court on this matter but only an interim order.
Let it be made abundantly clear that Agodi Kanu, in his press release, is purveying falsehood by claiming that Dr. Eberechukwu Oji was never crowned as Eze Aro.
His intention to deceive Umuaro and the public by saying the court has directed the Abia State Government to retrieve the Staff of Office from Eze Aro, Dr. Eberechukwu Oji, and issue the same to a certain Godwin Idei is manifestly contradictory. Which Staff of Office is Agodi referring to now if Dr. Eberechukwu Oji was not previously crowned? Nothing can be farther from the truth! In fact, Agodi’s propaganda is a familiar antic adopted by him and his cohorts to give the impression of hope that does not exist anywhere.
We wish to inform Umu Aro that the purported intention of rolling out the so-called reforms, strengthening institutions in Arochukwu Kingdom, and restoring dwindling glory are figments of the imagination of a delusional character who is, at best, daydreaming.”
The palace, however, reassured Umuaro that the community will remain peaceful and calm as usual.
“We wish to reassure Umuaro that Arochukwu Kingdom remains calm, peaceful, and still in a celebratory mood following the highly successful coronation celebration of His Eminence, Dr. Eberechukwu Oji, as Eze Aro IX.
Indeed, all the leadership echelons in Arochukwu Kingdom, starting from Eze Ezi, Eze Ogo of the 19 villages, and the kindred Ezes, have been engaged in productive meetings with His Eminence, Eze Aro, on the forthcoming Ikeji Arochukwu 2024 festival, the authentic calendar of which has just been released.
Umu Aro are encouraged to go about their normal businesses and ignore some unrepentant mischief makers and professional purveyors of falsehood.”
and then