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Bomadi High Court begins contempt proceedings against INC officials
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Case linked to recognition of Kerebiri-Mein clan despite subsisting judgment
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Officials risk jail term if found guilty of disobeying court order
Top officials of the Ijaw National Congress may face imprisonment as contempt proceedings have commenced at the Delta State High Court sitting in Bomadi over alleged disobedience of a subsisting court order.
Those affected include Dr. Kio Anyanate, Leader of the National Representative Council; Barr. Boma Tons Fetepigi, National Legal Adviser; Gabriel Benamiesegha, Clerk of the National Representative Council; and Princess Joyce Adesola Ebiseni, Deputy Clerk of the Council.
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The dispute stems from moves by the INC in 2023 to split the Akugbene Mein Kingdom in Delta State into two clans.
In response, His Royal Majesty, King S. P. Luke, Kalanama VIII, Pere of Akugbene Mein Kingdom, filed Suit No. HCB/3/2023 against the Incorporated Trustees of the INC and its President, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, challenging the action.
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On March 21, 2024, the Bomadi High Court delivered judgment in favour of the monarch, restraining the INC, Prof. Okaba and their agents from recognising Kerebiri-Mein as a clan in the Western Zone of the congress. An application for stay of execution filed by the INC was subsequently dismissed on February 5, 2025.
Despite the judgment, the National Representative Council reportedly commenced a constitutional review and, on February 1, 2026, recommended the recognition of Kerebiri-Mein as a clan eligible to elect delegates for the forthcoming INC elections.
This development prompted the monarch, through his counsel Eric Omare, to initiate committal proceedings at the Bomadi High Court by serving Form 48 on the officials involved.
Committal proceedings are initiated to compel compliance with court orders, and the officials risk prison terms if the court finds that they acted in breach of its earlier judgment.
