By Mary Onyemba
Be called an Nze or any other titles and terms of endearment and you would be Arrested By the Police
The Eze’s Cabinet Of Ụmụọma Nekede Autonomous Community in Owerri West L.G.A Imo State drags the Chairman Of the Joint Council Of Elders to Police for being called an “Nze”
Val ‘Frakas Mo’Fire’ Amadi breaks down the situation at hand
An 83 yr old community Leader and Chairman of Elders’ council dragged to the police by Eze’s Cabinet in Ụmụọma Nekede, Owerri West L.G.A.
The Royal Cabinet of Eze Morrison Eke of Ụmụọma, Nekede dragged Nze U.K Amadi, the Secretary of Ụmụezereọkam Council Of Elders and the Chairman of Ụmuoma Joint Council Of Elders to the police because they claimed he “parades” himself as an “Nze”, a title bestowed upon him many years ago by the Igbo Community in Makurdi.
The Chairman of the Eze’s cabinet, Chief Patrick Nwaneri and some of his cabinet members were present at the police station alongside a huge crowd of supporters of Nze U.K Amadi. They claimed that the Eze’s Cabinet invited Nze U K Amadi but he didn’t show up and so, they said, they went to the police. While it’s noteworthy that the Eze’s cabinet lacks Subpoena or prosecutorial powers, Nze U.K Amadi said he could have honored their invitation but they only gave him a few hours to show up and he was ill at the moment. Some observers at the police station noted that since the Eze’s cabinet lacks subpoena/prosecutorial powers, no one is really under any legal obligations to honor their invitation and the consequence of not answering their invitation should never be intimidation with the Police. The same observers noted that Nze Amadi only had an obligation to answer the police and he did.
Nze U.K Amadi showed up with his lawyer and a big crowd of supporters and sympathizers with him. The crowd was so much that the police got worried and had to pick only a few supporters to go in for the interview. The Youth Chairman of Umuezereokam, Onyemauche Ofoegbu, the Welfare Chairman of Umuezereokam, Igwe Hycent Njimah, UgoChukwu Obilonu, Oke Nze Chinedu “Shanka” Ejiogu, members of “Mezie Umuoma” and many others were amonst the supporters that accompanied Nze Ụ.K Amadi at the Police Station.
Some independent observers believe that the recent falling out between some people within the Eze’s camp and Nze U K Amadị had prompted or ignited the police approach by the Cabinet members. They also noted that the people close to the Eze see Nze U.K Amadi as a sympathizer or supporter of the devopment group, “Mezie Ụmụọma” that had in the past been at odds with the Eze over some of his policies and practices and wanted to use this “Nze” saga as an opportunity to teach the Octogenerian a lesson.
Barr JaaChimike Nnanna (a US based attorney who also practices in Nigeria) Barr Mike Jamo and a few other legal luminaries believe that for Nze U.K Amadị to be prosecuted for a crime of impersonation, he needed to have erroneously claimed that the title was given to him by the Eze and he also needed to have done that while committing a crime. They noted that the two situations must be married for it to crystalize into a crime.
The leader of the “Mezie Ụmụọma Development Movement”, Elder Anthony ‘TACCO’ Ajọkụ, reached by our We4WeREPORTS.Com correspondents said he calls “for peace in the community. I want the rights of all individuals in our community to be respected and the dignity of our elderly upheld. We can handle certain issues within ourselves in the community and the police should not have been involved in this matter.”
Val Frakas MoFire Amadi, a member of the Umuezereokam Community noted that he wants peace in the community and begs that the parties involved have more respect for the elderly and stay away from “dragging community and otherwise civil cases into the criminal arena”. He noted that regardless of your position in the matter, it should remain clear that if there is “no commission of a crime, no one should be prosecuted for being called titles and terms of endearment by others.”
He further stressed that if people have political differences, they should sort it out within the community without trying to flagrantly use the instruments of the state (Police) to intimidate others just because they feel connected or they feel closer to the police. Everyone’s Civil and Human rights must be respected and the police must not allow themselves to be used to settle cheap community scores.
The Okam Diaspora Forum, The Okam Women’s League and various other organizations in UmuezereOkam have reacted angrily to the arrest of the elderly Nze U.K by the Eze’s Cabinet. The Okams Diaspora Forum has demanded an apology from the Eze’s Cabinet for the arrest, a refund of his bail money, an immediate suspension of the two cabinet movers from Umuezereokam, amongst other demands.
