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End Of The Road For Ndindu, CRIDTTL Over Harassment Of Ndieze In Lagos

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KINGSLEY EBERE
The battle over the use of Igbo traditional titles outside Igbo land has taken a new turn in Lagos, as plans to stop the newly recognised Ndindu Ndigbo and the activities of the Committee on the Regularization of Igbo Diaspora Traditional Title and Leadership, CRIDTTL, thicken over alleged harassment and intimidation of Ndieze in Lagos.
PMEXPRESS gathered that Ndieze, through their solicitors, have accused the committee of using police and other security agencies to harass, intimidate and disrupt the activities of their members in Lagos, for continuing to use the titles Eze and Eze Ndigbo.
The solicitors argued that the circular said to have been issued by the committee, purporting to ban the use of royal titles by Igbo rulers outside the South-East, did not disclose any constitutional authority or statutory law backing the directive.
According to the legal position put forward by the Ndieze, the alleged harassment is aimed at coercing them in Lagos, who are rulers of Igbo communities in their respective domains within the Lagos metropolis, to stop using the traditional title Eze and Eze Ndigbo which they were conferred with.
The solicitors maintained that the actions of the committee have no foundation in law and constitute a violation of the fundamental human rights of the Ndieze.
They relied on the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, particularly the right to freedom of association and the right to freedom of expression, to argue that the Ndieze are entitled to freely associate and to be addressed by titles they choose or are honoured with.
It was also argued that there is no law in Nigeria that criminalises, prohibits or restricts a person from being addressed by titles, designations or appellations, provided there is no usurpation of statutory authority, breach of public peace or act of impersonation.
The Ndieze stressed that the title Eze and Eze Ndigbo adopted by them is a natural consequence of their selection and conferment as leaders by members of the Igbo community in the areas where they reside, and does not amount to proliferation of statutory traditional stools.
They therefore warned that continued harassment, threats, intimidation and use of police against the Ndieze, either by the committee or its agents, will be resisted by all lawful means available.
The solicitors advised the committee to cease and desist forthwith from further acts of harassment, intimidation, threats and interference with the rights of the Ndieze, and to allow wise counsel to prevail.
Copies of the warning were also sent to the Inspector-General of Police, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone II, Onikan, Lagos State, and the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, among others.
The matter took a worse turn at Aboru, Lagos, where Igbo community had planned to celebrate the Igbo Cultural Day which they have been celebrating over the years.
It was gathered that the CRIDTTL allegedly arranged with the police and stopped the event, despite the huge preparations already made by the organisers.
Sources said millions of naira were wasted following the disruption of the event, as canopies, food, drinks, cultural displays and other logistics already paid for were abandoned.
The incident has now become a major flashpoint in the crisis, with the Ndieze insisting that the committee overstepped its bounds by using the police to stop a lawful cultural celebration.
The matter is now before Zone 2, Onikan, Lagos, where the police are said to be looking into the complaints of harassment and disruption of the Aboru cultural event.
It was also gathered that Eze Ephraim Nnaemeka was invited in connection with the matter.
Sources close to the Ndieze said the Ndindu and the committee may be made to pay damages for their actions, if it is established that the disruption of the Aboru event and the harassment of the Ndieze were unlawful.
But the Secretary of CRIDTTL, Prince Ubochi Ubochi, has described the Onyendu Ndigbo position as a call to service rather than a crown.
Ubochi spoke against the backdrop of the public presentation and inauguration of selected Ndindu Ndigbo in Lagos on October 3, under the auspices of the South East Council of Traditional Rulers, SECTR.
He said the October 3 event, held at the Colonnades Hotel, Ikoyi, was an institutional transition in the way Igbo traditional leadership is structured outside the South-East, and not merely another title-presentation ceremony.
He said CRIDTTL was established to undertake screening, verification, assessment, documentation and recommendation of prospective Onyendu, to provide a more clearly defined structure for Igbo traditional leadership outside the South-East.
Ubochi stressed that an Onyendu was not a territorial monarch and did not acquire sovereignty over a host community by virtue of the position.
“Onyendu Ndigbo in practical terms actually means leadership with responsibility,” he said. “His responsibility is to lead, unite, represent, mediate, preserve culture and solve problems.”
He warned the new leaders not to mistake recognition for entitlement, and cautioned them against using their positions to bully or intimidate people, solicit money from politicians in the name of Ndigbo or turn the office into a business venture.
As the legal battle and the battle for legitimacy continue, observers say the coming days will determine whether the Onyendu framework will stand, or whether the resistance from the Ndieze in Lagos will bring an end to the road for the Ndindu and CRIDTTL.

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