The Enugu State High Court on Wednesday, delivered a landmark judgment on the long-standing dispute over the Igweship of Mburubu, a community in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The court ruled in favor of the Mburubu Town Union, declaring that Mr. Jerry Onuokaibe was not legitimately elected as the Igwe of Mburubu.

Instead, he had imposed himself on the community through the influence of a group known as the Mburubu General Assembly, which the court described as illegitimate.

Presiding over the case, Justice C.O. Ajah scrutinized the role of the Mburubu General Assembly in the selection and election process of the community’s traditional ruler.

“The Mburubu General Assembly is an unauthorized entity without any legal standing,” the judge ruled, describing the group as a “faceless organization and interloper.”

The court found that the group’s actions were not only unlawful but also without any legal backing.

Furthermore, Justice Ajah highlighted that the Mburubu General Assembly was not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), making its decisions legally void.

The ruling also addressed the 1976 document that Mr. Onuokaibe had cited to justify his claim to the throne.

The judge dismissed the document, clarifying that:

“The 1976 constitution, which was presented as a foundation for his claim, was merely a guideline for traditional rulers in the old Eastern region. It was never a legally binding statute or gazette law for Mburubu.”

The court affirmed that the only recognized and enforceable legal document governing Mburubu’s traditional leadership is the 2003 Constitution of the Mburubu Town Union, which is legally acknowledged by both the Enugu State Government and the law.

Additionally, Justice Ajah clarified the rightful succession process for the Igweship of Mburubu, stating:

“The Igweship stool of Mburubu is open only to individuals from Uhuegbe village, which holds the second position in the order of seniority within the community.”

This ruling reaffirmed that Uhuegbe village holds the exclusive right to produce the next Igwe, while Mr. Onuokaibe, who hails from Umunafor village—the fifth in the order of seniority—is ineligible to contest the throne.

“Since his village does not hold the necessary position in the seniority order, his claim to the Igweship is unconstitutional and goes against the established traditions and legal framework of Mburubu,” the judge declared.

During the proceedings, the court differentiated between the outdated 1976 document and the 2003 Mburubu Town Union Constitution.

While the 1976 document outlined a rotational system for traditional rulers, the 2003 constitution revised and formalized the selection process based on village seniority.

The judgment also clarified the legal requirements for the election and removal of traditional rulers in Enugu State, stating that only processes that are officially gazetted by the government are legally valid.

“Traditional leadership elections before 1976 are invalid because the administrative structure of Enugu State and the establishment of Nkanu Local Government Area were not yet in place at the time,” Justice Ajah noted.

As part of the ruling, the court imposed a fine of N500,000 on both Mr. Onuokaibe and the Mburubu General Assembly, payable to the Mburubu Town Union and Chief Linus Igbudu.

The penalty was issued as a consequence of their role in disrupting peace within the community and wasting judicial resources.

The court further directed the Mburubu Town Union to organize a new Igweship election within 21 days.

The Enugu State Ministry of Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs was tasked with overseeing the process to ensure compliance with the 2003 Constitution of the Mburubu Town Union.

A Magistrates’ Court in Jos has sentenced a 36-year-old security guard, Justice Terfa, to 18 months in prison for defrauding a woman of 30 day-old chicks and misappropriating money meant for their feeding.

Magistrate Shawomi Bokkos delivered the judgment on Wednesday after the accused pleaded guilty to the charge.

“The convict is sentenced to six months in prison with an option of a N30,000 fine. Additionally, he must pay N500,000 as compensation, failing which he will serve another one year in prison,” the magistrate ruled.

Earlier, Prosecutor Inspector Ibrahim Gokwat informed the court that the case was reported on December 21, 2024, at the Anglo-Jos Police Station by the complainant, Anthonia Osirho.

According to Gokwat, the convict was entrusted with 30 day-old chicks and given N300,000 for their feeding and medication.

“The chickens were meant for the Christmas celebration, but after rearing them, the convict sold 29 out of the 30 and diverted the money to his personal use,” the prosecutor stated.

The prosecution noted that the offence contravenes the Plateau Penal Code Law.

The management of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Teaching Hospital, Parklane, has announced plans to dispose of over 300 unclaimed bodies that have overstayed in its mortuary.

In a public notice signed by the hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. Bethrand Ngwu, the management urged relatives and friends of the deceased to come forward and claim the bodies.

“This announcement serves as a notice to anybody whose relations or friend’s corpse has stayed in the hospital for a period of six months and above, to proceed and claim it.”

Prof. Ngwu further warned that any unclaimed bodies would be disposed of after the given deadline.

“Failure to do so within three weeks after this announcement, all bodies not claimed shall be disposed of permanently, and the hospital will not be held accountable.”

For concerns or inquiries, the hospital advised the public to reach out via the following contact details:
Phone: 08033750269 or 08063251100
Email: info@esutth.org.ng

Many Nigerians have been left without electricity following yet another collapse of the national grid.

The system failure occurred around 11am on Wednesday, causing a sharp decline in power generation from 4,064 megawatts to 1,203MW by 12 pm, before dropping completely to 0.00MW at 1 p.m.

This marks the twelfth collapse of the national grid in 2024 alone and adds to the over 100 incidents recorded in the past decade.

Confirming the latest system failure, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) issued a statement on its X handle, saying:

“Dear Valued Customer, We regret to inform you that a system disturbance occurred on the national grid at 11:34 am today causing a power outage across our franchise areas.

“While gradual restoration of power supply has commenced, please be assured that we are working closely with relevant stakeholders to fully restore electricity as soon as the grid is stabilised. Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work to serve you better.”

Similarly, Ikeja Electric also informed its customers of the disruption, stating:

“Dear esteemed customers, please be informed that we experienced a system outage today, 12th February, 2025 at 11.34hrs affecting all our feeders.

“Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders. Kindly bear with us.”

The repeated grid failures have raised concerns about the country’s power infrastructure, with many citizens and businesses bearing the brunt of frequent blackouts.