A community leader in Akama-Oghe community in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State, Chief Christian Akpata, has raised the alarm over threat to his life and what he described as “a sinister and grand plot to link him to unknown gunmen” on a day he is billed to appear at Ezeagu High Court.
Akpata, who is one of the two contestants for the royal throne of the community, is billed to appear in court on May 19, 2022, over a matter with a suit No A/9C//2019 between the Commissioner of Police vs Christian Akpata.
He disclosed that some members of the community’s town union who are against his becoming the new traditional ruler.of the town, had plotted to bring gunmen to cause mayhem in the court and frame him up as their sponsor.
Akpata noted that the same people had attempted to jail him on trumped up charges of a gunrunning but the Federal High Court in Enugu dismissed such plots and acquitted him.
He added that they had severally boasted to use their relationship with the judge in Ezeagu to convict and jail him so as to permanently prevent him from contesting the royal stool.
Because of this, Akpata said, he had petitioned the state chief judge to ask the Ezeagu High Court judge to recuse himself from all three pending matters – A/9C/2019; A/29/2018 and AE/308M/2019- involving him in the court and reassign same to another judge without favourable response.
He said that credible intelligence available to him showed that the same people had also perfected plans to dump human body parts in his country home as one of their plots so that the police could use it as evidence to pick him up as a ritualist.
According to him, “These elements were equally boasting that they would use the Ezeagu High Court judge to put me away. When I heard their boasting, I petitioned the state chief judge to ask the judge to recuse himself from the matter and assign it to another judge because I no longer have confidence in the judge.
“I also discovered that the said judge is their in-law and that one of the clerks of the court is also living in the house of one of their lawyers. More often, any documents my lawyer files in the court always get missing.
“They also boasted that even if the chief judge acts on my petition, that the matter would still remain with the judge. And the same thing happened because the matter was taken to Enugu with the same judge still in charge.
“And as I feared, the judge gave judgement against me saying that my attorney was worthless. The matter is still on appeal.
“Now, the same people also instituted another matter against me before the same court at Ezeagu. And the same people are boasting that the court must jail me.
“We have up to three cases there and the upcoming one is that of May 19, which I have received several reports that they are planning to rope me into unknown gunmen.
“I have also petitioned to the new Chief Judge to transfer the matter to another judge because I no longer have confidence in the judge at Ezeagu. Whenever the people boasts, it will always come to pass. I repose great confidence in the law courts that’s why I have consistently run to them as the last hope of the common man.
“So, I am calling on the peaceful governor of Enugu State, Rt. Ho. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to be aware of the plot to set me up and bring violence on Ezeagu High Court. They have planned to bring gunmen to the court so that whatever happens there, they will attribute it to me.
“I have also received report of the plot to dump human parts in my country home and use police to come and arrest me for ritual killings. So, I am using this opportunity to call on the security agencies in Enugu State that anywhere you find human parts around my house in the village, know that it is the same people who are chasing me.
“I am calling on the Chief Judge to also take note of what is going on at Ezeagu High Court so to do the needful before to preserve the sanctity of the Court.
“It is not as if I am afraid of death. But going by several machinations by some members of the town union to have me jailed, I feel the need to raise this alarm. They did it before, God used the Federal High Court to stop them”, Akpata said.
