News
Attah Igala Stool: A skewed process and the gathering storm
The succession contest for the paramount Igala royal stool must rank as one of the least rancorous and acrimonious globally. For a stool so reverred that its occupant is literally idolized by the subjects spread across several states in Nigeria from the North Central, to the North East, South East and South South Geo-Political Zones observers have always found it confounding that succession to the stool in its 700 years’ history had been seamless with the near absence of conflict except in 1956 when the Colonial Government of the Northern Province in Kaduna arbitrarily interfered in the process.
That year, at the death of King Ameh Oboni(who reigned 1946-1956) perhaps one of the most popular Attah Igalas of all time, the Northern Colonial government furtively turbaned a Zaria based Prince Aliyu Obaje from a royal ruling house not yet in line for ascension to the stool and brought him to the Attah’s Palace in Idah to forcefully occupy the throne even when the rightful prince has been selected, initiated and crowned by the kingmakers after going through all other rites of coronation.
The legitimate inheritor, Late Prince Opaluwa Oguche and indeed almost the entire kingdom was bewildered by the injustice and wholesome desecration of the process which would have been inconceivable before then.
Prince Oguche went to court and the litigation escalated to the Supreme Court before he was prevailed upon by stakeholders of the kingdom to withdraw the suit in 1972. It was the first time the stool of the Attah would be subjected to a legal tussle.
The Kingdom would have perhaps witnessed another acrimonious process when Aliyu Obaje passed away in 2012 and was succeeded by now Late King Idakwo Ameh Oboni II but for the deft handling of the contentious issues by the then Governor of the State Captain Idris Wada.
There are Four Ruling Houses entitled to produce candidates to occupy the Attah Stool namely the Aju’Ameachor, Aju’Akogu, Aju’Aku and Aju’Ocholi in that order of rotation.
When an Attah produced by a ruling house ends his tenure, he is succeeded by the eldest qualified son of the last Attah from the ruling house in the rotation order of precedence.
The 1956 interference first distorted the order of rotation as the turns of Aju’Ameachor and Aju’Akogu were by passed and usurped to impose Aliyu Obaje who spent 56 years on the throne.
At the time of his demise another cardinal qualification compulsory for a candidate to the throne which was that such a candidate must be the direct son of a previous Attah had been lost by the two houses that suffered the injustice of the government imposition as no direct children from the last Attah’s from both families namely King Oguche Akpa (reigned1911-1919) and King Atabo Ijomi (1919-1926) were alive anymore.
Thus at the death of Aliyu Obaje, King Idakwo Oboni II(reigned 2013 -2020) whose father King Ameh Oboni was the predecessor of Obaje was automatically favored for the throne as a result of the two major distortions.
Firstly, the Aju’Ocholi Ruling House where he comes from is next to Aju’Aku in the rotational order of precedence and secondly he was also the eldest son of a previous Attah in the line of rotation.
This development meant the Aju’Ameachor and Aju’Akogu were going into extinction as ruling houses as a result of the injustice visited on them in 1956.
The two ruling houses had begun assembling their arsenals to engage in legal challenges when former Governor Wada brokered a truce with the undertaking that the distortions which had now turned out to be debilitating disqualifications to their rights to ascend the throne of their forefathers would be redressed by legislation.
Thus the Kogi State Igala Area Traditional Council (Modification of Native Law and Customs) Order of 2015 was enacted.
The law restores the rotation order of precedence with a clear-cut provision that when it comes into force after the death of King Idakwo Oboni the rotation will commence from the Aju’Ameachor Ruling House which is the first in the order of precedence and whose heir directly suffered the injustice of 1956, followed by Aju’Akogu.
The fundamental amendment to the custom and tradition of the stool was the waiver provided for grandsons of previous Attahs to ascend the throne when it’s the turn of a ruling house that that can no longer present the direct son of a previous Attah and even a great grandson where there are no more grandsons alive in a ruling house.
But other than these amendments that was encoded to redress the injustice done to the two ruling houses the law equally reinforced the time tested traditions of the succession which has guaranteed a rancor free process for 700 years.
The process in itself is simple and open. At the death of an Attah, the traditional Prime Minister of the kingdom known as the Achadu will declare a vacancy in the stool.
The oldest man in the ruling house in line of succession will convene a meeting of the family to choose from among the male sons of the last Attah a nominee to occupy the throne.
Preference is to be given to the most senior among the contestants granted he’s of sound mind, had never been convicted of an offence of dishonesty and he’s of good health.
The name of the nominee chosen from such a family meeting shall be forwarded to the three other ruling houses for purposes of information and to engender cooperation and a sense of filiality among the ruling houses.
The ruling houses are required by law to jointly forward the name presented to them by the family to the Etemahi (Head of the Kingmakers) and members of the college of kingmakers called the Igala Mela.
The Kingmakers are to appoint him the Attah and thereafter forward his name to the Achadu for onward transmission to the state Governor through the State Council of Chiefs for approval.
Thus by the provision of this succession law the duty of deciding who becomes the Attah rests squarely with the family in line of the rotation order.
Once a candidate has been nominated, the law is clear that the role of all the other actors in the succession process is to endorse and forward the candidate until he’s appointed by the kingmakers and his appointment is finally approved by the governor.
However, it will appear that so far in the current succession process, the law and the tradition have been observed in total breach by the Etemahi who appears to have concluded that he can create his own rules as he desires in total disregard of the extant provisions of the law.
The Etemahi for instance encouraged and accepted applications from a multiplicity of candidates from all the ruling houses.
This precipitated an avalanche of applications from all manners of persons whom he shortlisted for interview on December 15, 2020 as if they were looking for paid employment.
There after he set up a committee with the mandate of recommending three names for him to choose from.
The committee was said to have met and made the recommendations.
However, while he engaged in this brazenly illegalities he totally ignored the legitimate process already commenced by the Aju’Ameachor in its meeting convened by the eldest man in the family on November 19 after the declaration of vacancy in the stool that resulted in the nomination of Prince Samuel Opaluwa Oguche according to provisions of the law.
His name was presented to the other ruling houses who said they were already in the process of taking advantage of the applications been received by Etemahi to also contest the stool and therefore declined to discharge the duty required of them by law to accept and forward the name presented by the Aju’Ameachor whose turn it is to produce the Attah.
Right now what would have been a smooth process following the new law and the tradition is degenerating into hostilities which promises to be intractable and combustive therefore exposing the much sacred institution with a history of peaceful transition to ridicule and contempt.
Already allegations are flying around that the motivation for encouraging several persons into applying for the throne and inviting them for interview was the cash tokens each aspirant would present.
Besides some contestants have already released statements to alleged that the head of the Kingmakers had received a bribe of N20 million to recommend a civil servant in a paramilitary organization who is the least qualified among the major contestants from the Aju’Ameachor Ruling House.
Several observers of the process are unanimous that once an otherwise simple process is deliberately made to be complicated and compounded by the managers of such a process, they could only be doing so for either some pecuniary or noxious interests.
Whichever is the case, it is becoming increasingly clear that the effort at picking the Attah this time around is doomed to end in a lurid and bitter controversy never before associated with the stool whose occupants the Igalas love to deify.
Ekele Amana writes from Idah, Kogi State.
TEXT OF THE BROADCAST BY PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES, DECLARING STATE OF EMERGENCY IN RIVERS STATE ON TUESDAY 18 MARCH 2025
Fellow Nigerians, I feel greatly disturbed at the turn we have come to regarding the political crisis in Rivers State. Like many of you, I have watched with concern the development with the hope that the parties involved would allow good sense to prevail at the soonest, but all that hope burned out without any solution to the crisis.
With the crisis persisting, there is no way democratic governance, which we have all fought and worked for over the years, can thrive in a way that will redound to the benefit of the good people of the state. The state has been at a standstill since the crisis started, with the good people of the state not being able to have access to the dividends of democracy.
Also, it is public knowledge that the Governor of Rivers State for unjustifiable reasons, demolished the House of Assembly of the state as far back as 13th December 2023 and has, up until now, fourteen (14) months after, not rebuilt same. I have made personal interventions between the contending parties for a peaceful resolution of the crisis, but my efforts have been largely ignored by the parties to the crisis. I am also aware that many well-meaning Nigerians, Leaders of thought and Patriotic groups have also intervened at various times with the best of intentions to resolve the matter, but all their efforts were also to no avail. Still, I thank them.
On February 28, 2025, the supreme court, in a judgment in respect of about eight consolidated appeals concerning the political crisis in Rivers State, based on several grave unconstitutional acts and disregard of rule of law that have been committed by the Governor of Rivers State as shown by the evidence before it pronounced in very clear terms:
“a government cannot be said to exist without one of the three arms that make up the government of a state under the 1999 Constitution as amended. In this case the head of the executive arm of the government has chosen to collapse the legislature to enable him to govern without the legislature as a despot. As it is there is no government in Rivers State.”
The above pronouncement came after a catalogue of judicial findings of constitutional breaches against the Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Going Forward in their judgment, and having found and held that 27 members of the House who had allegedly defected
“are still valid members of Rivers State House of Assembly and cannot be prevented from participating in the proceedings of that House by the 8th Respondent (that is, the Governor) in cohorts with four members”
The Supreme Court then made some orders to restore the state to immediate constitutional democracy. These orders include the immediate passing of an Appropriation Bill by the Rivers State House of Assembly which up till now has not been facilitated.
Some militants had threatened fire and brimstone against their perceived enemy of the governor who has up till now NOT disowned them.
Apart from that both the House and the governor have not been able to work together.
Both of them do not realise that they are in office to work together for the peace and good governance of the state.
The latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today there have been disturbing incidents of vandalization of pipelines by some militant without the governor taking any action to curtail them. I have, of course given stern order to the security agencies to ensure safety of lives of the good people of Rivers State and the oil pipelines.
With all these and many more, no good and responsible President will standby and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the Constitution to address the situation in the state, which no doubt requires extraordinary measures to restore good governance, peace, order and security.
In the circumstance, having soberly reflected on and evaluated the political situation in Rivers State and the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State having failed to make a request to me as President to issue this proclamation as required by section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it has become inevitably compelling for me to invoke the provision of section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State with effect from today, 18th March, 2025 and I so do.
By this declaration, the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State are hereby suspended for an initial period of six months.
In the meantime, I hereby nominate Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state in the interest of the good people of Rivers State. For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate.
The Administrator will not make any new laws. He will, however, be free to formulate regulations as may be found necessary to do his job, but such regulations will need to be considered and approved by the Federal Executive Council and promulgated by the President for the state.
This declaration has been published in the Federal Gazette, a copy of which has been forwarded to the National Assembly in accordance with the Constitution. It is my fervent hope that this inevitable intervention will help to restore peace and order in Rivers State by awakening all the contenders to the constitutional imperatives binding on all political players in Rivers State in particular and Nigeria as a whole.
Long live a united, peaceful, secure and democratic Rivers State in particular and the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a whole.
The Plateau state government has expressed concern over violence in Shimankar (Menkaat), Shendam Local Government Area, of the State which unfortunately caused unnecessary tension within the community.
In a statement by the State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Hon Joyce Lohya Ramnap, made available to journalists in Jos, it condemned in strongest terms and warned such violence would not be tolerated any longer.
The statement called for dialogue to differences and disagreement before it snowballed into violence, adding that government will not allow anyone to undermine peace and unity of the State.
Part of the statement read: “I want to reiterate the Plateau State Government’s unwavering commitment to upholding peace and security for all citizens, especially during such tense moments.”
Acknowledging the swift response of law enforcement agencies and the traditional institutions in containing the situation, we are calling for even greater collaboration between community leaders, security agencies, and the public to prevent further escalation,thus the need to maintain peace, calm and restraint from all parties.
“We urge the people of the community to pursue peaceful resolutions to any disagreements instead of resorting to violence.”
In line with the administration’s “Time is Now” vision under the leadership of Governor Mutfwang, I want to emphasise that the state is focused on ensuring lasting peace and harmony, irrespective of religious or tribal differences.
Government is also assuring the public that security agencies have been instructed to conduct a thorough investigation into the root causes of the skirmishes and to ensure that those responsible for any breach of public peace are held accountable.
Towards this end, Plateau citizens are to remain vigilant yet peaceful and to actively support all efforts to de-escalate the situation as the State Government is committed to fostering a peaceful coexistence for all citizens, the statement further reads.
As protest rocks Benue State against the Chief Judge, Justice Maurice Ikpembese for relocating the Benue Local Government Election Petitions Tribunal from Makurdi to Abuja, Governor Hyacinth Alia has distanced himself from the protest.
Protesters in their hundreds from Benue State took to the streets of Abuja on Monday, for a peaceful protest from the National Assembly to the Supreme Court to express their outrage over the Benue CJ’s decision.
Prior to Monday’s massive protest Justice Ikpembese raised security concerns and moved the Tribunal to Abuja, a development that triggered protest as they are saying the Tribunal would have remained in Makurdi for them to monitor proceedings.
The tribunal is currently handling disputes arising from the Benue State Local Government elections conducted on October 5, 2024.
Reports indicate that 93 petitioners, including aggrieved candidates from both the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party, have filed cases at the tribunal since October 17, 2024.
The Benue State Government, through the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order, Mr. Fidelis Mnyim, had questioned the CJ’s unilateral decision, noting that neither the governor nor his office had been formally notified.
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