Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The traditional stool of Nsugbe in Anambra East Local Government Area has become the centre of a bitter dispute that has pitted the community against the Anambra State Government, with the indigenes insisting that government recognition cannot replace the people's mandate. In an open letter addressed to Governor Chukwuma Soludo, signed by Rev. Fr. Dr. Chinedu Patrick Bosah, Chairman of the Nsugbe Development Union 2025 Electoral Committee, the community stated that its opposition was not borne out of disrespect but was a defence of the right of Nsugbe people to determine their own ruler through recognised traditional institutions.
The crisis dates back to July 8, 2026, when five members of the community, including Chukwuma Omenyi, filed a lawsuit before the High Court of Anambra State, Awka Judicial Division. On August 5, Justice Jude Obiora issued a preservative order directing all parties to maintain the status quo existing as at July 8, pending the amicable or judicial determination of the substantive suit. The court specifically restrained any party from organising, conducting, supervising, concluding or giving effect to any election or selection of the next Igwe of Nsugbe from Ivite Quarter on Saturday, August 8, 2026. The order also preserved the entitlement of Ivite Quarter to produce the next monarch.
Despite this order, the Anambra State Government suspended the elected leadership of the Nsugbe Development Union on August 24, 2026, over several allegations, and constituted a caretaker committee to oversee the community's affairs. The caretaker committee subsequently announced an Igweship election for Sunday, August 30, 2026. Barrister John Nweke reportedly emerged as the winner of that election and was presented with a certificate of recognition by Governor Soludo on Tuesday, September 2, 2026, at the Government House in Awka. Nweke is the elder brother of Tobechukwu Nweke, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of Anambra State.
The Anambra State Government has denied violating any court order, with Nnaemeka Ugha, a Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Legal Matters, arguing that the government was not a party to the suit and was therefore not restrained by the court order. Ugha also claimed that the election referred to in the court order was the one scheduled for August 8, 2026, which was cancelled in line with the order, and that the court had refused to grant an injunction in respect of any other election. The government has maintained that the caretaker committee's election was conducted in line with the wishes of the people and that the recognition of Nweke was an administrative act within the governor's statutory powers.
However, the Nsugbe stakeholders have rejected this position, arguing that government recognition alone cannot confer traditional legitimacy on an Igwe. They insisted that while a certificate of recognition might constitute an administrative act of government, the moral, cultural and traditional legitimacy of a traditional ruler must emanate from the people he or she is expected to lead. The group warned against conflating governmental authority with customary legitimacy, stressing that the power of government to recognise, regulate or administer aspects of the traditional institution should not be interpreted as an unrestricted power to determine who the people of a particular community must accept as their ruler.
The community's opposition has drawn support from prominent indigenes, including Senator Tony Nwoye, who represents Anambra North Senatorial District, and former Senator Alphonsus Igbeke. A petition to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed by at least 13 members of the Concerned Indigenes and Stakeholders in Nsugbe accused the Anambra State Commissioner for Local Government and Community Matters, Vincent Ezeaka, and the Attorney-General of engaging in unlawful and contemptuous actions to hold the election barred by the court. The petitioners stressed that the dispute stemmed from a contention over the mode of selecting the next traditional ruler, with some individuals favouring a delegate system while others backed universal adult suffrage in Ivite Quarter, the section of the community favoured by a zoning arrangement to produce the traditional ruler.
The stakeholders have called on Governor Soludo to suspend further actions capable of deepening the division in Nsugbe and to create an opportunity for all legitimate stakeholders to participate in a transparent process for selecting the traditional ruler. They said such a process must respect the customs and traditions of Nsugbe, remain free from political interference and intimidation, and be transparent, credible and verifiable. They also demanded the immediate withdrawal of the certificate of recognition issued to Nweke, arguing that it was premature and capable of causing a breakdown of law and order in the community.
The Nsugbe crisis has become a significant test of the relationship between political authority, traditional institutions and the rule of law in Anambra State. At its core is a fundamental question: can a governor, through administrative fiat, impose a traditional ruler on a community that has rejected him? The community's insistence that legitimacy must flow from the people, not from a government certificate, strikes at the heart of the tension between statutory recognition and customary authority. As the legal battle continues and the community awaits the governor's response, the people of Nsugbe remain resolute in their demand for a process that respects their customs and their right to choose their own leader. For now, the traditional stool remains vacant in the eyes of the community, and the path to reconciliation remains blocked by a certificate that many refuse to accept.
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