It was more trouble for former Imo Governor, Rochas Okorocha on Sunday as a traditional monarch he dethroned while in power accosted him and verbally assaulted him on an Airpeace flight they both boarded.
It was learnt that the Obi of Obinugwu, Eze Cletus Ilomuanya, who was dethroned as the Imo Council of Traditional Rulers Chairman by Okorocha, now Imo West Senator, attacked the law maker seated next to him.
Some reports said the traditional monarch hit Okorocha with his stick in the heat of the argument.
Further escalation was averted by the airline crew, led by the captain, who moved in swiftly and re-seated Okorocha.
Eye-witnesses said Ilomuanya warned Okorocha to stay away from Orlu, Imo’s second-largest city after Owerri, the state capital.
The traditional monarch reportedly accused the law maker of being the cause of his predicament, while Okorocha was said to have stated that he had no regret removing the monarch as the Imo Council of Traditional Rulers Chairman.
It would be recalled that the monarch sought legal reprieve at the time. An Owerri High Court ordered that he be reinstated.
The court also declared that the purported withdrawal of his certificate of recognition and staff of office by Governor Rochas Okorocha on June 6, 2014 was “illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.’
The case moved from the Federal High Court to the Court of Appeal and to the Supreme Court.
In January 2021, some traditional rulers in the state expressed their preference for the return of Ilomuanya as the Chairman of the Council.
The traditional ruler of Okwudor in Njaba LGA, Eze Anayochukwu Durueburuo, told Governor Hope Uzodinma that his reinstatement would elicit joy among the monarchs and reinvigorate the “almost desecrated institution.”
He had said, “Eze Ilomuanya has several court judgments directing his reinstatement as Chairman, an action which the Presidency, through the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) agrees with.”
