Founder of the Movement for the
Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, has
been sentenced to one month in prison by a judge of an Owerri high court in Imo
State for disobeying the order of the court to appear in a case in which he is
plaintiff.
Presiding Justice Kemakolam
Ojiako made the order in the civil case, HOW/265/2013, between Uwazuruike
(plaintiff) and Barr. Chigozie Iheama and others over a land dispute.
Ruling on the motion on notice
filed on July 6, 2017, by C.K. Okorie, counsel to the defendant, praying the
court to commit the plaintiff/contemnor to prison for disobeying the order of
the court, Ojiako ruled that, “The plaintiff, Chief Raphael Uwazuruike, is
hereby found guilty of contempt/disobedience to the said order of court made on
April 2, 2017.
“That the plaintiff, Chief
Raphael Uwazuruike, is hereby committed/sentenced to prison custody and shall
be so detained for a period of one month from the date of his commitment to
prison.”
Ojiako also restrained
Uwazuruike, his agents, privies or servants from entering into the said land
pending the determination of the action.
The judge adjourned proceedings
to July 10, 2018.
However, Emmanuel Chukwuka,
counsel to the MASSOB/BIM leader, said that they had earlier appealed the
contempt proceedings at the Appeal Court, which was slated for hearing on
October 2, 2019, but the judge has continued with the contempt proceedings.
“The ruling of the court has been
appealed at the Court of Appeal but Justice Ojiako insists he will continue
with the matter, rather than stay proceedings in the matter, as is the normal
practice,” he said.
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