Hot SourceA judge at the Federal High Court, Owerri, Justice Nicholas Oweibo, recently ruled on a case already on appeal at the Court of Appeal, raising tension, and concerns about judicial overreach.
The case between members of Afor Oru Timber Dealers Association, Ahiazu Mbaise (appellants), and Nze Raymond Erege and others (respondents) involved a dispute over the land where the timber market is situated.
Unsatisfied by an earlier ruling by an Owerri High Court, the appellants had proceeded to the Court of Appeal, Owerri Division, for a stay of proceedings.
However, despite full knowledge of the application for stay of proceedings pending in the Court of Appeal, the judge sat on the matter on July 24, 2025 and issued an order of bench warrant against the appellants.
The appellants, in their petition against the lower court’s order in suite no: FHC/CS/OW/RJ/01/2025, through their lawyer, Ama Akalonu, are praying the appeal court for, “An order for stay of execution of the bench warrant made on the 24th of July, 2025 by His Lordship, Hon. Justice I. N. Oweibo, in defiance of the application for stay of proceedings pending in the Court of Appeal, Owerri, or an order of injunction restraining the execution of the said order of bench warrant against the applicants/appellants, pending the determination of the appeal against the said order.”
Their grounds of appeal included that, “The trial court deliberately chose to ignore the fact that there is a motion for stay of its proceedings pending in the Court of Appeal.”
They said notwithstanding the fact that the judge’s “attention was drawn to the pending motion for stay of proceedings in higher court, he proceeded to entertain the matter and further proceeded to make an order for bench warrant against parties who have already taken their case to the Court of Appeal.
The appellants also said by making the order for bench warrant, the trial judge had confirmed their fear that their rights to liberty and freedom of movement might be violated.
No date was fixed for hearing of the appeal.
But tension has mounted since the issuance of the bench warrant, as many of the traders doing business at the Timber Market, Afor Oru, in Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State, especially the market leaders, have been in hiding, as the respondents insist on executing the warrant.
The traders are calling on the Imo State government to urgently intervene to prevail on the parties to allow a proper and fair administration of the law, and avoid a breakdown of law and order.
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