Justice: Court to begin hearing of suit against Peter Obi

Anambra High Court in Onisha, presided by Justice C.N. Mbonu Nwenyi has fixed the arraignment of the former governor of Ananmra, Mr. Peter Obi and Mr. James Nwafor CSP accused of demolishing Chief Bonaventure Mokwe hotel, called “Upper Class Hotel”, sometimes in August 1, 2013.

According to the affidavit sworn to by Patience Udeoku and filed at the High Court Registry on 24 of November, 2014 stated that “ leave is granted to the plaintiff/applicant to serve the writ of summons and other processes in this suit on the defendant by substituted means to wit”.

The summon reads “By pasting same at the gate of the first defendant, Mr. Obi in Amatutu Village, Agulu in Anaocha local government area of Anambra State and by serving the second defendant the writ of summons and other processes in this suit through any officer in charge of legal Department of Special Anti- Robbery Squad (SARS) office, Awkuzu or by pasting same on the entrance gate of the SARS office, Awkuzu”.
Issued at High Court, Onitsha under the seal of court and hand of the presiding judge this first of December, 2014.

In a press briefing organised recently, in Lagos, Mokwe told journalists that, the recently ended judicial staff strike at Anambra State slowed down the pace of the case, along with the deliberate effort of the Anambra State government to rely on pathetic technicalities instead of confronting the claim proper.

Mokwe stated that “It will be recalled that I personally instituted two law suits against Anambra State government starts properly from the court of Appeal level because of the umbilical cord relationship between the high court and the state government”.

Mokwe said the law suit against Mr Obi which an order of court has been issued for him to be served by way of newspaper publication will finally draw a line between immunity and its limit. Public servant protection act does not include protection against unlawful acts.

Peter Obi’s instant demolition of my hotel (Upper Class Hotel) during his term without a minute investigation or judicial involvement is the behest of an unlawful act.

“It was an act done principally for his single benefit of criminally acquitting a choice property. An unlawful act cannot quality for official duty of a state governor, he stated.”