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lexylaw40kuti:
Those Parading Themselves As Ezendigbo Risk 2 Years Imprisonment – Lagos State Govt
pmexpressng.comJan 22, 2024 8:32 AM


The Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Local Governments, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Developments, has stated that those parading themselves as Ezendigbo risk two years imprisonment because the title is not recognized by the State Government.


P.M.EXPRESS reports that the revelation was made by the Assistant Director of the Ministry, Mrs. Raulat Ibrahim, before the Lagos State High Court while testifying against Ezendigbo in Ajao Estate, Eze Frederick Nwajiagu, for terrorism.

She also revealed that by Law, if any person is parading himself as Chief or King without the permission of the State Government through the Ministry, the person risks imprisonment.

From the case of Eze Nwajiagu, who presented certificate signed by the President of Igbo Speaking Community, as Ezendigbo, it means that other Ndiezes with such certificate risk imprisonment because it is not recognized by the State Government.


Mrs. Raulat Ibrahim, who was the third prosecution witness led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Dr. Babajide Martins, told Justice Yetunde Adesanya of the State High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square Lagos that the Eze-Ndigbo is not a recognized chieftaincy title in the State.

During the trial, Mrs. Ibrahim told the Court her schedule of duties in the Ministry.

“I am a civil servant at the Ministry of Local Governments, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Developments. I was employed in October 2001 and made Assistant Director in 2015”.

“My schedule of duties includes, upgrading of Baale/chiefs or Oba either from part 3 to part 2, creation of stool, monthly meetings with the Obas and the Lagos State Council of Chiefs and Obas. Preparing allowance of Obas, conflict resolutions and lastly stakeholders meetings.”


“The processing for stool designation is from the Local Government. Relevant documents will be forwarded such as the minutes of the ruling house, minutes of the selectors, then minutes of the chieftaincy committee in the Local Government.”

“The bio-data of the chieftain, the Curriculum Vitae, the picture of the chieftain and a certain amount of money, which the chieftain will pay to the Local Government.”

“Payment of moving from part 3 to part 2 then we start the processing from our ministry. We forward the document to the Ministry of Justice for clearance then we send it for Governor’s approval, then ratification of the executive members. Then we prepare the letter.”

“Since the letter is from the Local Government, my office calls the chieftaincy officer of the Local Government for collection of the letter.

For the Obas, the Local Government will forward the requirement letter to our Ministry then we send it to the Ministry of Justice, then they forward it to Lagos State Standing Tribunal Enquiry for Chieftaincy Matters, the standing tribunal publishes name into the national newspaper, interested parties will join the tribunal.”

“After it has been resolved, the file will be sent back to our Ministry for further processing. Then we start all over again to the Ministry of Justice to Governor’s office etc. Then the ministry will now issue a letter of approval. On the installation day, the certificate of issue will be sent by the Governor for approval, then the Ministry will install the Oba.”

“The letter of approval will be signed by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry. There is no installation for Chief. It’s the letter that shows his recognition as a Chief in Lagos State.”

Mrs. Ibrahim stated that this procedure is governed by the Obas and Chiefs law of Lagos State 2015. She also noted that there is no Oba or recognized chief in Ajao Estate.

“So if a person claims or parades himself that he is a Chief in Ajao Estate, what does that mean under the law and the procedure?” asked the DPP.

“The person did not follow the due process as recognised by law and he is therefore, not recognized by Lagos State,” replied Mrs Ibrahim.

“When the defendant was arrested by Police, he had a certificate, are you familiar with it?

No sir, we don’t issue such.

This is not a certificate signed by the Governor? It’s not issued by Lagos State.

The prosecuting counsel tendered the certificate as evidence while stating that they had made a copy for the Court.

Defense counsel, Chief Emefo Etubo, stated that he had no objections to the tendered evidence. It was marked as Exhibit P6p.

“What is the implication of this parade then? asked the DPP.

“Since the chief did not follow this procedure, he will be charged for two years,” said the witness.

The defence counsel, Chief Emefo Etubo, further cross examined the witness and she further stated:

“The Permanent Secretary gave me instructions on this matter. A file containing mail was sent from the Permanent Secretary to our Director of Chieftaincy then it was sent to me on 19th December, 2023, and we appeared in Court in January. We didn’t have the administrative file of the Eze-Ndigbo, then we sent it to the Director Legal in the archives.”

“The director then said I will appear in Court because we don’t have such a processed file as he is not our Chief. I am conversant with the recognized Chiefs in Lagos State and Eze Ndigbo is not one of them.”

Justice Adesanya adjourned till 29th January, 2024, for continuation of trial.

P.M.EXPRESS findings revealed that none of the Ezendigbo in Lagos State is recognized by the Lagos State Government and there is no single file at the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy Matters and Rural Development as testified before the Court.

The have ared

Are all these not too Early ?

The issue of security should be everyone's responsibility if we are serious about it

He knows his root

Crystal08:
Hey guys, I am looking for answers or solutions to my situation.
I am married to my Igbo husband for 6 years now and we are living abroad, I myself am of mixed blood, half amerindian and half African.
The problem is, my husband has a son with a woman many years ago, he now wants to pay her bride price to claim his son.
Will that action give her any rights or is it only for him to be able to get his child. This woman has been calling his phone unstoppable as if she is his wife, what am I missing here? I am his wife, and this matter is disrupting the peace in my home. We have 3 children together , a son and after two daughters.

African tradition is no brainer at times

lawyer:
1. Never buy a land or house based on an image, flyer, or video sent to you. Try to visit the property PHYSICALLY so that you can decide whether you like it or not. The majority of images you see online at the end of the day, it's always a case of what I ordered vs. what I received.

Send a member of your family, a friend, a work colleague, a lawyer, or a surveyor to look at it on your behalf if you are unable to see it yourself. If you cannot find anyone to view it for you, forget the property. You might be saving yourself a future headache by doing that.


2. After viewing the property, the next thing you must ask for are copies of the title documents for the land or house so that you can investigate them.

A title document here refers to the proof or evidence of ownership of the land or house they intend to sell to you. That land or house did not fall from the sky. It was acquired from either another person, group of people, community, or government.

The title documents the land seller must possess may come in the form of A deed of assignment, survey plan, purchase receipt, excision survey, letter of allocation, contract of sale, will, letter of administration, C of O, Governor’s Consent, Memorandum of Understanding, layout, deed of rectification, court judgment, etc. This list is not all-inclusive.


3. Anyone that intends to sell a parcel of land or house either as a personal seller, omonile or real estate company MUST hand over photocopies of the necessary title documents of the land to you to investigate.

Any seller that declines to provide you with copies of that document so you can verify them is a potential land or property con artist. Any illogical reason they give you for not revealing information to you to aid your investigation is a warning sign and red flag; you MUST walk away.

4. As soon as they hand you copies of the title documents, give them right away to a property lawyer so they may review them. Many seasoned property lawyers, like myself, have examined thousands of land documents over the years and can advise you whether to move forward with the verification just by looking at it or to terminate the transaction right away.

For example, my 17 years of experience as a specialist property verification lawyer has made me know how to identify fake C of Os-(Certificate of Occupancy) fake Governor’s Consent, or forged Deeds of Assignment right away.

I have seen too many wayo, too many fraudulent, and too many questionable documents to make me know if the seller is trying to defraud you or waste my time. If I am not too sure if it was a fraudulent document, that’s when I would recommend further verification on the property.
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5. A property verification must include one or more of the following

i. Investigating the land physically

ii. Verifying the title documents at the land registry

iii. Conducting a site search at the surveyor general’s office

iv. Visiting the Courts as appropriate to determine whether the property or seller is involved in any pending legal proceedings

v. Visiting the community to determine if there is an outstanding dispute or court issue

vi. Visiting the probate division to verify a will or letter of administration

vii. Check the Cabinet office to ensure the Gazette and Excision are authentic

viii. Visiting the surveyor general’s office to verify the authenticity of the coordinates and location on the survey plan

ix. Knowing the complete profile of the seller to know if you are dealing with the appropriate person that has the capacity to sell or not

x. Investigating the previous owners of the property to know if the land was properly transferred to the seller.

6. Once these steps are vigorously taken by the property lawyer, a search report must be given to the potential buyer detailing the search process, what was investigated, where it was investigated and the final report of the investigation.

7. The property lawyer MUST now advice the potential buyer whether to buy the property or not. The person conducting the search must also be an INDEPENDENT LAWYER that has no affiliation or ties with the Seller.

8. It would be a terrible idea to use the same Lawyer as the seller because there would be a conflict of interest. If something bad happens to the land, who would the lawyer represent or protect? The Seller or You?

9. Endeavor to always obtain a search receipt from the lawyer after the search fees have been paid. This would guarantee that the Lawyer has an obligation to perform professionally or risk his NBA practicing license.

10. Avoid asking a friend lawyer, co-worker lawyer, or family lawyer to conduct the land verification search on your behalf because, 95% of the time, the results are either always vague, time-consuming, or done sloppily. Most importantly, if something goes wrong, who is to blame?

One more word of caution:

Money is hard to come by these days due to the challenging economy. Owning your own land or home is a need in life, and working hard and being determined to save money to do so is a testament to those qualities.

Avoid ruining everything by making a rash property purchase without first ascertaining the ownership or status of the land or house.

In exchange for a piece of land or a home, you would be writing a stranger the largest check of your life. Don’t hand over your life money to a dishonest real estate company or property seller con artist who convinced you to purchase a doubtful property with fake or forged title documents. Losing your land, home, and money would be too painful, stressful, and horrifying to handle.

Your friends and family would blame you. Your colleagues will pity you in your front and laugh at you at your back. The Jealous ones would be ecstatic that you were suffering, just like they were, and they would thank their village people for making you suffer. When outsiders hear your story, they will use you as an example to verify their next piece of property or home so they won't do something similar.

Police and lawyers would chop you finish when they finally know you have entered their trap and once they've emptied your wallet, you won't even get your money back in full.

The worst part is that the dubious seller would use your hard-earned money to flex, travel around the world, gamble recklessly with your money on nairabet, lavishly spend on girlfriends, marry a new wife, pay for his own children’s school fees, use your money to pay his rent or complete his own house, buy a new car, pay an outstanding loan or debt he is owing, invest your own money in his business or even pop numerous bottles of champagne at clubs or parties.

He would even use your money to post bail at the police station and settle the same police with your own money when you finally get hold of him.

If you act responsibly, use caution, and thoroughly investigate the property you are interested in, you can prevent all this suffering.

Self-help is not recommended since, nine times out of ten, you will overlook something vital and your case file will land up on my desk or at Panti Police Station. If you and your property lawyer follow these rules, I guarantee you buying a property free from wahala, fraud and wayo.

thank you for this info