Anambra market crisis: BoT Chairman sues market Chairman, others for removing him, demands #500m damages

Anambra market crisis: BoT Chairman sues market Chairman, others for removing him, demands  #500m damages

By Chinwe Nwacha , Onitsha 

The chairman of Board of Trustees, (BoT), of New Auto Spare Parts Market, Nkpor, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra state, Chief Mike Emerah, has dragged Chief Stephen Obiora Ofoleh, chairman of the market caretaker committee and other members of the committee to the Federal High Court sitting at Awka, State capital.

Specifically, the plaintiff, Chief Emerah is demanding from the defendants jointly and severally a whopping sum of N500 million as exemplary and aggravated demages for removing him as a member of the market Board of Trustees, BoT. 

Chief Stephen Obiora Ofoleh, Chairman of the market caretaker committee is the first defendant.

Nine other members of the market caretaker committee, including Josephat Ekwedike, Uchenna Nwankwo, Amaechi Ezeh, Obiajulu Udeh, Paulinus Okwuchukwu, Edwin Ibeabuchi, Uchenna Ugbala, Kenraph Chiemezie, Gilbert Anigbogu and Mrs. Eucheria Ezeome are the 2nd, 3th, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th defendants respectively.

The plaintiff also joined Governor Chukwuma Soludo as the 11th defendant for authorizing his Special Adviser on Parks and Markers, SPAD, Chief Evarist Uba, the 12th defendant to illegally appoint the 1st to 10th defendants as members of the market caretaker committee sometime in February, this year, against the Constitution of the market which states that the leadership of the market must be an elected one and not appointed one.

The plaintiff equally joined the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, Abuja as  the 13th defendant in the suit for allowing the 1st to 10th defendants to manipulate CAC record, remove him as a member of BoT and put themselves as BoT members.

The 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th defendants are Ekwedike, Nwankwo, Ezeh and Udeh, are Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Assistant-Secretary and Financial Secretary of the New Auto Spare Parts Market, Nkpor, while the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th defendants, Okwuchukwu, Ibeabuchi, Ugbala, Chieme, Anigbogu and Ezeome are the Treasurer, PRO, Provost, Circular Bearer, Welfare Officer and member of the market caretaker committee respectively.

In a pre-action notice filed at the Federal High Court Registry in Awka and served on all the defendants, the plaintiff, Chief Emerah through his Legal counsel, Chief Ikenna Egbuna, (SAN) is also seeking a declaration of the court that the appointment of the first defendant and his privies by the 12th defendant, Uba, an agent of 11th defendant, Governor Soludo as members of the caretaker committee of the Market is unlawful and contrary to the Constitution of the market.

In the Pre-action notice No. FHC/AWK/CS/191/2024, the plaintiff noted that he decided to institute the suit on his discovery that he had been unlawfully removed from the CAC record as a member of the trustees of the market by the market committee which he described as an illegal one, based on the constitution of the market.

He is also seeking a declaration of the court that his removal from CAC record as a BoT member is unlawful and unconstitutional.

He contended that it is ironical that the same people whose appeal against the state government's approval to construct shops on top of existing shops in the market which is currently pending before the Court of Appeal sitting in Awka in Appeal No. CA/AW/155/2022 are now appointed as caretaker committee of the market.

He further contended that the refusal of the incumbent illegally appointed caretaker committee to allow the former elected executive members of the market then led by Chief Elisius Ozokwere to construct the additional shops on top of the existing ones, as approved by the state government by going to court which is yet to be determined by the Court of Appeal, has denied the state government a huge amount of revenue and yet Government knowingly or unknowingly still appointed them caretaker committee illegally to take charge of the helm of affairs of the market.

He argued that upon the fact that the committee was illegally appointed by the state government, the committee members went to CAC, Abuja and criminally removed him as a member of the BoT of the market.

He therefore sought an order of the court directing the 13th defendant, CAC to reverse its record and return him as a member of BoT of the market, while the 1st to 10th defendants pay him the sum of N500 million as exemplary and aggravated demages.