Abia Governorship Crisis: The Presidency Connection

Govt alleges plan to kidnap judicial officersFresh facts emerged at the weekend over the ongoing governorship crisis in Abia State with the alleged unseen hands of the presidency believed to be responsible for the attempted plot to remove Governor Victor Okezie Ikpeazu of the state.

This is coming even as the state government, this morning alleged plans by some persons loyal to the “emergency governor-appoint” of the state, Uche Ogah, to kidnap some judicial officers in the bid to further complicate the tense situation in the state.

Inside sources revealed at the weekend that beyond the position of Governor Ikpeazu on the Grazing Bill believed to have put him against the presidency is the issue of ‘no certificate’ against President Muhammadu Buhari recently withdrawn by Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaiwe, an Abuja-based lawyer, who had initially sought to see the case to a logical close.

Unfortunately, for the governor, Nwokocha-Ahaiwe is not only an indigene of the state but also on the employ of the government, where he was said to be heading an agency. Therefore, there is said to be the belief in the presidency that should an employee of the government be seeking to remove the president, then, there is no way the governor could feign ignorance.

It was at this point the plot to remove Ikpeazu was allegedly hatched. Although intelligence had allegedly reached the governor, who according to sources immediately asked Nwokocha-Ahaiwe to withdraw the case because of the likely consequences and which he did. But the intervention appeared to have come late as those alleged to be behind the removal plot had already swung into action.

Recall that Nwokocha-Ahaiwe had last Thursday withdrawn the suit seeking an order from a Federal High Court in Abuja to declare President Buhari not qualified to contest last year’s presidential election for allegedly not possessing requisite education qualification.

The plaintiff had alleged that Buhari was not qualified to contest the 2015 presidential election – which he won – as he did not sit for the Cambridge West African School Certificate (WASC) in 1961 as he claimed. The application was filed on June 27.

However, at the resumed sitting on Thursday, presiding judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola struck out the case in a short ruling following the plaintiff’s notice of discontinuance of the case. Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe declared his intention to withdraw the suit, though failed to adduce any reason behind the decision.

Meanwhile, the Abia State Government, this morning said it uncovered plots by desperate politicians to kidnap judicial officers in the state.

“We call on security agencies in the state to increase surveillance and protection services around all the judicial officers in the state,” a statement by the Chief Press Secretary, Eyinnaya Appolos, said, adding that, “We wish to warn those involved in this plot to desist from their nefarious activities as the government will not hesitate to apply the full weight of the law against them.”

The government therefore called “on Abians to be vigilant and report any suspicious movement around them to the security.”