The Federal High Court, presiding in Abuja, has dismissed a suit seeking the declaration of the Igbo social cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, as illegal organisation.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, rejected the call for the arrest, probe and prosecution of the President General of the association, Prof George Obiozor and other leaders of the group over alleged contempt.
Justice Ekwo held that the applicant; The Registered Trustees of Ohanaeze Indigbo General Assembly, led by Barrister Onuorah Onyeachonam, failed to show that Obiozor and others committed any offence known to law to warrant their arrest, investigation and prosecution.
He said after a thorough evaluation of the processes filed by the applicant he found that it failed to establish a prima facie case to warrant the grant of the reliefs sought.
The Onyeachonam-led Ohanaeze Indigbo General Assembly had, in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/56/2021 claimed that Obiozor and other leaders of the Ohanaeze Indigbo, who emerged from the recently conducted election, were in contempt by allegedly running an illegal organisation.
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The applicant, in the suit which had the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) as respondents, claimed that while it was duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the group with a similar name, led by Obiozor and others was unregistered.
It then filed an ex-parte application for leave to apply for the issuance of an order of mandamus, compelling the IGP and the AGF “to arrest, investigate and commence criminal proceedings” against Obiozor and others for allegedly running an illegal and/or unregistered association known as Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
The applicant said its resort to the court was because of the failure of the respondents to act on its letters to them on Jan.15 for the arrest and prosecution of Obiozor and others.
However, the judge dismissed the case for lacking in merit
