Deputy Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Mr Chinedu Ohah has challenged a legal practitioner, Mr Christopher Adagba Aja to come up with authoritative evidence to justify his alleged claims of and abduction and threat to life, he level against him and others.
Onah, stated this on Monday, while reacting to the alleged threat to life and abduction by Mr Christopher Adagba Aja, counsel to masquerade group, denied any knowledge of such act, noting that he never had any personal encounter or discussion with the said Adagba.
He opined that the decision taken against masquerading in the market in Ngbo was not a personal decision but a decision taken by the entire Ngbo leaders Council in consideration of negative threat the activities of masquerading posed in the area.
"This is not a personal matter. It is a matter that involves Ngbo leaders Council. It was a decision taken by the leaders Council of Ngbo. That Council houses all stakeholders in Ngbo, both political and in academics and all sectors. Everybody that means well for Ngbo clan was involved in that decision. We're not saying they should stop masquerading, we said they should stop masquerading in the market, disrupting the economic activities in the market , beating our women who are selling their produce in the market. That's what we said. Masquerading has designated places for it.. I don't know how it has become my personal decision. I am not Ngbo leaders Council. I am just a member. I don't know why some body will want to be taking about this.
"About the alleged abduction, he alleged that my people abducted him and took him to police station. I can't reconcile that. If anybody has ever been kidnapped and the same kidnappers will take the person to the police station, Let the public reconcile that, but I don't know him. I met him ones at the court. I have never had any personal issue with him. No phone call, no quarrel, no discussion, whatever that would have prompted me to sending people to abduct is what I wouldn't know. Again, he sued Ngbo leaders Council and the matter is in court, why is anybody talking about it, why not allow the court to look at the matter and decide who is right or wrong.
"If he is a lawyer as he claims to be, if he don't have a pictorial evidence of what happened and he cannot say authoritatively this is the thing that happened to me. I have Security aides, I can provide them for him to come and look at them and tell me who among them came to abduct him. If it is a vehicle, they should be picture or a mark on the vehicle that made him say it's my own. If he didn't have all these, why is he making case out of nothing?
"The way the world is going now, everybody needs to embrace peace. Like I said before, if we're really working with the people's charter of needs of our governor, this peace is paramount. In Ohaukwu right now, what is needed is that peace. And then everybody is shouting hunger and yet people will come to market to sell and in the name of masquerading you come and disrupt the activities, are you now helping them or pushing them into poverty that they trying to come out from. If it is not helping, we said, stop masquerading in the market. We're not saying you should stop culture. I have talked about this, when you said masquerading is our culture and the criminality involved, I am not the oldest person in Ngbo, telling you if it is our culture or not, but when the time comes, they will talk about it. My own is, let your own human rights not stop another person human rights. Where your own human rights stop is where another person's human rights begins. If you stop the women from selling their produce in the market because you're masquerading, and for instance, these masquerades supposed to be Spirit, what are they doing in the market, they should go to the spirit world and masquerade and allow the woman to sell their produce in the market, that's our stand", he concluded..
On his part, the Reagent of Umuogudu Oshia Community, Prince Uche Aliega also denied his involvement in the alleged abduction attempt and threat to life of Barrister Adagba Aja stressing that he intervened when the accused Omebe Ogele masquerades were arrested for flaunting the order of Ngbo leaders Council not to masqurade in Okwo market.
Prince Aliega who blamed the masquerade crisis on excesses of some individuals who had ignored the norms and ethics of traditional practices as it was done in olden days noted that the leadership of Umuogudu Oshia and Ngboejiogu in general. Aliega noted further that as a custodian of culture, he not against masquerading, but the criminality that has been injected into it, is what made the leaders to come up with resolution banning it from operating in the market and major roads. He queried why a masquerade can engage in stealing beating up women in the market, attacking innocent people on the road.
Recall that an Abakaliki based legal practitioner, Mr Christopher Adagba Aja, had accused the Deputy Speaker, Chinedu Onah and others of masterminding his alleged abduction due to his appeance in court in defense of members of Omebe Ogene masquerade.
Citing Section twenty-one of the 1999 constitution part "A" directs that the state shall protect,preserve and promote the Nigeria cultures which elevate human dignity and are consistent with the fundamental objectives"
However despite the huge cultural heritage of Ngboejiogu Clan the reckless action of some masquerades in the area especially the ones parade by some youths who highjacked the processes as most of them may not have acquired traditional inclination of masquerade as required culturally to make one qualified and matured in this obligation contributed greatly to the cause of this prevailing disputes in the area.
Addressing Newsmen on the development, Christopher Adagba Aja alleged that his life was been threatened by the Deputy speaker of Ebonyi state House Assembly Hon.Chinedu Onah and the Reagent of Umuogudu Oshia autonomous community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area Prince Uchenna Aliega for serving as the barrister defending his accused clients,the Omebe Ogene masquerade group in the court of law.
Barrister Adagba- alleged that his clients who are members of Omebe Ogene masquerade group duely registered with the state government since 1996. including Emmanuel Eze Ebenyi,James Awoke,Ifeanyi Onwe and others were attacked and inflicted severe injuries on tenth of June this year by group of holigans allegedly lead by the Deputy Speaker Hon.Onah and Uche Aliega after the masquerade group traditionally visited the Ngbo major market Okwo for a peaceful procession through which they offer kola to Ngbo elders who also have a specific base in the market as demanded by Ngbo culture to signal an end for the prevailing Omebe or ugwoke year in Ngbo which comes once in every three years while their contemporaries known as Odo masquerade exhibit their own activities in the opposite year as culturally endorsed.
Hower,after their procession in Okwo, on their way back to the masquerade reserved forest at Ogene village Umuogudu Oshia Ngbo he alleged that they were confronted and attacked by hoodlums lead by the Hon.Onah and Uche Aliega.
Adagba Aja who said as a practicing lawyer, he had an obligation to provide services to a client who needs him and should not be forced to hands-off from case he is handling for any client by any one or group argued that after the efforts by some elders and stakeholders to resolve the dispute amicably was rejected by the Deputy speaker and his group his clients who had been in pain due to injuries they sustained in the attack and distress days in police detention had no option than to institute civil litigation against the Hon.Onah,Prince Aliega and others at federal High Court for enforcement of their fundamental human right on choice of religious worship and obligation.
He said that while the first hearing of the matter is coming up on thirtieth of this month October, at Federal High Court Abakaliki, the Deputy speaker and his group in few days ago re-arrested his clients late in the night detained them in the state police command headquarters in Abakaliki from where they were charged to the state magistrate court and reminded them in prison presently
According to Barrister Adagba-aja while he was arranging to go to court for their defence a team of police men he suspected were part of security convoy to the Deputy Speaker invaded his residential home at about four o,clock early in the morning claiming that they were instructed by the state Commissioner of Police to bring him to the state police command headquarters.
The policemen disagreed with his request to report later in the morning that it was too early to be taking away by that time and later forced him to their vehicle despite the intervention of residents of the apartment who were awakened up by the emerging harsh interaction, with him wearing only a short nicker and casual cloth on his body. Instead of the security men taking him to state police headquarters as they claimed they instead took him to interior part of Ezza North Local government Area through Ukwu achi along Enugu/Abakaliki express way after alleged intimidation in the vehicle urging him to hands-off from the masquerade case later, dumped him at Police Post at Liberation Estate without any explanation to police officers on duty.
The legal practitioner argued that no law in Ebonyi state constitution nor internal security law that had classified masquerade procession or being a member of masqurade group as criminal offence or cultist activity added that he had filed his petition to the Inspector General of Police and the National leader of Nigeria Bar Association and also copied to the Ebonyi state chapter of the union.
He appealed for quick intervention of governor Francis Nwifuru and security agents to reverse the threatening excesses of some stakeholders and groups in Ngbo especially relating to practices of the people,s inherited cultural heritage to promote peaceful co- existence for the interest of all.
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