Following an alleged assault , the Edo State Government has suspended the Onojie of Uromi, His Royal Highness Anselm O Aidenojie, from office for seven days.
In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Peter Okhiria, the Onojie’s suspension was contained in a letter signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, and dated October 26, this year, following the decision of the Edo State Executive Council.
According to the letter titled, “Suspension from Office as Traditional Ruler,” the state government explained that the traditional ruler was suspended for an alleged “unprovoked attack, inflicting grievous bodily harm on one Mrs. Betty Okoebor on September 28, this year in full public glare to the embarrassment of those present and causing disgrace to your otherwise esteemed office.”
The Onojie was alleged to have refused, “even after two weeks, to respond to a query issued by the appropriate authority within the stipulated 72 hours, demonstrating total disregard and disrespect for constituted authority.
He was also accused of travelling outside the country without appropriate permission, in a further demonstration of his disregard for extant regulations and laws.
The state government urged the traditional ruler to tender an apology to the victim and the Edo State Government, within the seven-day period or “stand deposed as the Onojie of Uromi”.
It explained that the state executive council acted in line with its powers contained in Section 28(1) of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Law (1979) and “all other laws enabling it in that behalf ” and arrived at a conclusion that the said misconduct and “other acts of misconduct” of the Esan monarch were not only distasteful” but also “unbecoming of a traditional ruler” of his status.
