Breaking: Court Sacks Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Reason Emerges

• The Kogi State High Court in Lokoja has ordered the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Ahmed Muhammed Tijani Anaje, to stop parading himself as the traditional ruler of Ebiraland
• The Ohinoyi of Ebiraland is a first-class traditional ruler in the constituency of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the lawmaker who had a long political battle with ex-Governor Yahaya Bello
• Yahaya Bello appointed the embattled Ohinoyi of Ebiraland at the twilight of his administration in Kogi state

The Kogi State High Court sitting in Lokoja, the state capital, has removed the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Ahmed Muhammed Tijani Anaje, from the traditional stool.

Anaje is the first-class traditional ruler of the hometown of the popular Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District in the 10th Assembly.

How Natasha became Nigerian senator

Legit.ng recalled that Natasha, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member, was sworn in as a senator from Kogi State after a long legal battle with her opponent in the All Progressives Congress (APC). She was popular for surviving a harsh political rivalry with the immediate past governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello.

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Leadership reported that Yahaya Bello appointed the embattled Ohinoyi of Ebira Land towards the end of his tenure as the governor of Kogi State in January 2024.

But Hon. Justice Salisu Umar of the State High Court 6 in Lokoja, the state capital, in his judgment on Monday, February 3, ordered that the defendant, the embattled monarch, stop parading himself as the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland.

The full details of the court judgment were yet to be compiled as of the time of writing this report, but it was learnt that the case was filed in suit number HCO/05C/2024, by Dr. Barnabas Adeku Ojiah and two others against the Governor of Kogi State.

Why court removed the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland

Vanguard reported that Ojiah and others are challenging the legal standing of Anaje's appointment by the former governor. They alleged that there were irregularities in the emergence of the new Ohinoyi of Ebiraland.

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The court judgment has therefore nullified the appointment of Alhaji Ahmed Muhammed Tijani Anaje as the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland and mandated that compliance with the traditional and legal procedures in the selection of new Ohinoyi of Ebiraland must be fully respected.

All attempts to speak with the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Ahmed Muhammed Tajani Anaje, were not successful as his phone numbers were not going through.

Moment Senator Natasha weeps during plenary

Legit.ng earlier reported that Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has been seen crying while mourning and making a case for the late Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Abdul Rahman Ado Ibrahim.

Natasha, a PDP senator who was recently sworn in after a long battle with her opponent in the APC, asked the government to honour the late first-class monarch.

Following her prayer, the Senate offered a one-minute silence for the late king and urged the federal government to immortalise Late Ibrahim by renaming the Federal College of Education Okene after him.

Source: Legit.ng