The President of the Peoples’ Membership of Nigeria/Worldwide, Chief Joseph Ilonze, has petitioned the Authorized Practitioners Disciplinary Committee of the Nigerian Bar Affiliation, accusing three legal professionals of being the mind behind the membership’s present management disaster.
The alleged membership members are Felix Obi-Okafor, Fidelis Onyebueke and Lawrence Arinze.
The petition is coming towards the backdrop of a court docket judgement obtained by Ilonze, which mandated the trio to pay him a whopping sum of N5 million for utilizing the police to violate his elementary rights.
In a strongly worded petition dated December 16, 2024, which the LPDC acquired on December 20, 2024, the petitioner, by his Authorized counsel, I.I.N. Nwosu Esq, mentioned he introduced it underneath the Authorized Practitioners Act. 2004.
In petition No. BB/LPDC/1584/2024, introduced in a Type of Originating Software, Ilonze lamented that the adverse actions of the trio of Obi-Okafor, Onyebueke, and Arinze have grow to be inimical to the peace, progress, and unity of the membership.
Ilonze alleged that the adverse actions of the trio have grow to be too inexplicable that they’re required to reply to the allegations contained within the assertion of info/affidavit which accompanied the petition to the LPDC, including that such order be made because the committee shall assume proper.
Briefing journalists on the event over the weekend on the Peoples’ Membership Home, Onitsha Department, IIonze mentioned he wrote the petition to the LPDC towards the trio who he mentioned have since been expelled from the membership as a result of they’ve been utilizing their occupation as legal professionals to harass and intimidate different members of the membership, together with himself, just because they’re legal professionals and members of the Nigerian Bar Affiliation.
He mentioned, “I’ve petitioned the Authorized Practitioners Disciplinary Committee of the NBA over the harassment and intimidating behaviours of the members. We would like the NBA to question, droop and even expel them too from the authorized occupation as a result of we now have already expelled them from the Peoples’ Membership of Nigeria Worldwide.
“The three legal professionals are utilizing the occupation to harass and intimidate us just because we’re bizarre residents and I’m interesting to the NBA to urgently look into their actions and compel them to cease terrorising harmless individuals like us.
“We expelled them for peace to reign in our noble membership which was fashioned many years in the past by our forefathers to strengthen cordial relationships amongst Igbo merchants all around the world. Now that they’ve been expelled, I’ll begin a peace course of to reunite all of the warring factions.”
Insisting that the trio remained expelled till additional discover, Ilonze warned the general public to not interact in any enterprise transaction with them underneath the umbrella of Peoples’ Membership of Nigeria.
South-East PUNCH gathered that their expulsion won’t be unconnected with the continued management disaster rocking the membership over who turns into the genuine Nationwide President of the membership.
Ilonze claimed that he was constitutionally elected by the membership members, however when he travelled abroad, the trio allegedly ganged up and carried out a coup d’etat claiming that they’d eliminated him from workplace. Nevertheless, South-East PUNCH gathered from competent sources that when Ilonze returned from overseas, he went to court docket and the court docket returned him to workplace.
That is a few July 18, 2023 landmark judgment delivered by Justice Pete Obiora of the Anambra State Excessive Court docket, sitting at Ogidi in Idemili Judicial Division, now of the Court docket of Attraction in Go well with No. HID/274/2018, which declared that Chief Joseph Ilonze is the elected Nationwide President of the Peoples Membership of Nigeria/Worldwide, Ilonze famous that the newest scuffle arose lately when the trio went again to the Membership’s Nationwide Headquarters in Onitsha, erected an entrance gate, chased away members of the membership, locked up the headquarters and stationed a mixed group of policemen, troopers and vigilante operatives on a 24-hour vigilance on the entrance gate with a particular instruction to not enable Ilonze and his supporters to have entry into the compound anymore.
In the meantime, the Atani Excessive Court docket, presided over by Justice Chukwudi Okaa, whereas delivering judgment in a elementary rights utility filed by Ilonze towards the trio of Obi-Okafor, Onyebueke and Arinze, throughout which he ordered them to pay him N5 million as damages for violating his elementary rights, and in addition restrained the police from additional denying Ilonze entry to the Membership’s Headquarters in Onitsha.
Joined as co-defendants within the go well with numbered AT/MISC.106/2024, as 4th, fifth and sixth defendants are the Commissioner of Police, Anambra State, the Assistant Inspector-Normal of Police, AIG accountable for Zone 13, Ukpo and the Inspector-Normal of Police.
Delivering the judgement on December 20, 2024, after listening to and contemplating the submissions of Tobechukwu Nweke for the applicant and Onyechi Araka Esq. for the primary to the third respondents, Justice Okaa declared that the unwarranted invitation and risk to arrest and detain Ilonze, the applicant by the officers of the fourth to sixth respondents on the instigation of the primary to 3rd respondents constitutes a violation of Ilonze’s rights to private liberty and dignity of human particular person as assured by Sections 34 and 35 of Structure of Nigeria.
Justice Okaa within the judgment, mentioned, “The fourth to sixth respondents, their brokers, servants and privies nonetheless described, are perpetually restrained from additional inviting or threatening to arrest or detain or from arresting and detaining the applicant on account of his discharge of his capabilities because the Nationwide President of Peoples’Membership of Nigeria/Worldwide, PCNI.
“The respondents, their brokers, servants and privies are hereby perpetually restrained from denying the applicant the precise to entry and enter to affiliate with members of the PCNI, the membership’s property/constructing positioned alongside Km 3, Owerri Street, Onitsha.”
Nevertheless, in a swift response, when contacted, the third respondent, Lawrence Arinze, who is alleged to be eyeing the Membership’s president seat and in addition the chief of the opposing camp, dismissed all of the allegations.
Arinze mentioned the petitioner ought to channel his grievances to the suitable quarters if he claims he’s being harassed and intimidated.
He mentioned, “They know the place to channel their grievances in the event that they declare we’re utilizing our occupation as legal professionals to intimidate and harass them. If the complaints are towards our occupation, they need to write to our skilled physique to report us.
“The actual fact is that the Excessive Court docket at Atani, which awarded the petitioner a N5 million damages has no jurisdiction over the matter and there’s a judgement towards them and the matter remains to be on.”