By Chidi Nkwopara

OWERRI—INDICATIONS have emerged that former Imo State Deputy Governor, Prince Eze Madumere has again approached the state High Court, urging it to set aside the purported report, on which the State House of Assembly drew it’s strength to purportedly impeach him.

Okorocha and Madumere

Besides this, Vanguard also gathered that Prince Madumere may file contempt charges against the Speaker, Imo State House of Assembly, Mr. Acho Ihim and members of the seven-man panel appointed by the state Chief Judge, to probe the alleged sins of the Deputy Governor.

The two sides of the emerging stories may not be unconnected with the recent Court Order issued by Justice Benjamin Iheka, in suit number HOW/565/2018, restraining the state Chief Judge, Justice Paschal Nnadi, the Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, the seven-man panel and Imo State House of Assembly, from going ahead with the impeachment proceedings against Madumere.

Vanguard recalls that despite the subsisting order, the House went ahead and not only impeached Madumere, but also approved the nomination of Callistus Ekenze as his replacement.

Madumere’s impeachment highly contemptuous—NBA

Meanwhile, the Owerri Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has described the impeachment of the former Deputy Governor, in spite of the subsisting court order, as highly contemptuous.

The position of the legal practitioners was contained in a press release signed by the Branch Chairman and Secretary, Damian Nosike and Justin Osuebi, respectively.

“The conduct of the lawmakers of Imo State House of Assembly, in proceeding with the impeachment of  the Deputy Governor, notwithstanding the order of court is to say the least, legislative rascality and amounts to contempt of court”, the lawyers said.

The NBA leadership commended the Chief Judge and all the other judges in the state for bluntly refusing to aid the executive and legislative arms of government in perpetuating illegality against the state.

“We eulogize the Chief Judge of Imo State and his brother judges of Imo State Judiciary, for not aiding  the illegality of the executive arm of Imo State Government, in it’s attempt to swear-in Mr. Callitus Ekenze that was purportedly appointed as deputy governor of Imo State, in the face of a subsisting Court Order,” the lawyers said.

They therefore reasoned that the attempt to swear-in Ekenze was a complete affront on the judiciary and rule of law.

“The attempt to swear-in the deputy governor designate, when there is a subsisting Court Order, remains an affront on the judiciary and the rule of law”, NBA fumed