Nnobi President-General Remanded in Prison for Contempt Over Constitution Controversy

 

The Magistrate Court 1 sitting in Nnobi, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, ordered the remand of the President-General of Nnobi community, Barrister Dominic-Savio Okpala, at the Onitsha Correctional Center following his conviction on charges of contempt of court.

Presiding Magistrate, Chief Magistrate Kenneth Nwoye, made the ruling after Okpala was found to have willfully violated a standing court order restraining him from initiating or facilitating any constitutional review in the community outside the stipulated legal framework.

The legal storm was triggered by members of Awuda, one of the four quarters that make up Nnobi, who took legal action against the community leader over what they termed an illegal and unilateral attempt to alter the community’s constitution. The plaintiffs argued that the Constitution of Nnobi can only be reviewed during a Quadrennial Conference — a town-wide assembly convened every four years — and not during the annual general meeting, as attempted by Okpala.

According to court records and submissions from the plaintiffs' counsel, Barrister Martins Okeke, the last Quadrennial Conference was held in 2023, with the next scheduled for 2027. Despite this, the President-General allegedly went ahead to hold a constitutional review meeting on December 31, 2024, defying a prior court injunction barring such activity.

The court was informed that Okpala not only convened the disputed meeting and reviewed the town's constitution, but also forwarded the revised version to the Anambra State government through the Commissioner for Local Government and Town Matters, Hon. Tony-Collins Nwabunwanne — an action that, according to legal experts, further entrenched the contempt.

To compound the situation, the President-General reportedly fined the Awuda community ₦300,000 as a group and imposed an additional ₦200,000 fine on each of the three individual plaintiffs who initiated the court proceedings against him. Magistrate Nwoye, in his ruling, condemned the move, describing it as an attempt to punish citizens for exercising their legal rights.

“The court is not only disturbed that the President-General willfully disregarded its lawful order, but also finds it outrageous that he imposed penalties on citizens for seeking judicial redress,” Nwoye declared in court. “Contempt of court is a criminal offense. The convict has shown no remorse and has, in fact, acted in further defiance. The law must take its course.”

Although the court had earlier given Okpala an opportunity to purge himself of the contempt by reversing the fines and retracting the revised constitution, he failed to comply. Instead, he convened what he termed a “peace conference” for the entire Nnobi town — a move the plaintiffs dismissed as a smokescreen intended to divert attention from the core legal issues.

“We told the court that our client’s conflict is with Awuda, not with the whole town. Organizing a peace conference was an unnecessary jamboree that did not address the contempt charges,” said Barr. Okeke, who represented the plaintiffs.

Following this development, the court upheld the March 20 ruling which convicted Okpala of contempt, and proceeded to order his remand at Onitsha Correctional Center pending when he decides to purge himself of the charges — a condition that remains unmet at press time.

The sentencing marks a significant moment in Nnobi’s governance history, raising serious questions about leadership, accountability, and the rule of law within Anambra's traditional and town union systems. As the community watches closely, all eyes are now on how the embattled PG will respond — and whether peace will truly return to Nnobi without adherence to its legal and constitutional norms.