The Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City on Tuesday delivered Judgment in favour of the Edo Arts and Cultural Heritage Institute in a long-standing case against the Eze Ndigbo group, who sought to establish and parade a traditional ruler within the State.
Presided over by Justice A.N. Erhabor at the Civil Court, Sapele Road, Benin City, the case has spanned more than ten years.
The Court’s ruling effectively restrains the Eze Ndigbo group from installing or recognizing any parallel traditional authority in Edo State, affirming the State’s stance on the preservation of its Cultural and Traditional Heritage.
Delivering judgement on Tuesday, Justice Erhabor said according to the existing edict of Edo State, settlers and non- indigene in the state have no legal right to create or install a paramount traditional ruler.
After citing relevant sessions of the Constitution, the judge described the proposed installation of an Eze Ndigbo in Edo State as an abberation and a violation of the traditional and legal framework of the State.
According to the judge, just as no Edo man can establish a parallel traditional ruler in any states in the Southeast, a non- indigene has no authority to do the same within the state.
He emphasised that while the Nigerian Constitution promotes peaceful co- existence among all ethnic groups in the country, such grounds must not be used to contravene the tradition of host communities.
In his reaction to the judgement, Counsel to the plaintiff, Barrister Osagie Obayuwana said that for anyone to bear that title Eze Ndigbo of Benin or Eze Ndigbo of Edo State “was tantamount to diluting the supremacy of the title, Oba of Benin.”
