By Simeon Ogbu
On 28th June, 2024, the House of Assembly candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Enugu South 1 State Constituency, Bright Ngene, and the former President-General of Akwuke Town Union, Chief John Ewoh, were sentenced to seven years imprisonment for conspiracy and stealing of the sum of N15,750,000 belonging to Akwuke/Akwuke Uwani communities.
But no sooner was the judgement delivered than the Enugu LP and their Chairman, go to town with the allegation that Ngene was summarily tried within 48 hours and sent to jail to incapacitate him ahead of the rerun election between Barr. Bright Ngene and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Hon. Sam Ngene, in eight polling units in Enugu South 1 State Constituency, as ordered by the Court of Appeal. But is that correct?
In his hit song, the Yoruba Fuji star, Abass Obessere, sang, “Egungun be careful, na express you dey go.” That song forewarns not only Egungun (Yoruba word for masquerade), but also mortals, to never throw caution to the wind. Unfortunately, men like Bright Ngene are like the proverbial tortoise in Ola Rotimi’s historical play entitled “Kurunmi”, after an Ijaiye maximum ruler and Aare Ona Kakanfo. Rotimi wrote, “When the tortoise is going on a senseless journey and you say to the tortoise, ‘brother tortoise, brother tortoise, when will you be wise and come back home?’ Eehn! The tortoise will say: Not until I’ve been disgraced, not until I’ve been disgraced… disgraced, disgraced, not until I’ve been disgraced!”
Way back in 2009/2010, crises erupted in Akwuke and Akwuke Uwani communities of Enugu South LGA over the collection of sand and gravel loyalties. It cost a life (Ogochukwu Nwanwu). Homes of several key community leaders were torched. In the end, a 20-man committee was set up with a representative of all 17 kindreds of Akwuke and Akwuke Uwani communities. But tenure elongation plot in the chairmanship of the committee meant to rotate among the four villages of Akwuke communities and allegations of corruption soon crept in.
Consequently, Akwuke communities set up a Contract Committee with Bright Ngene as the Secretary, while Benneth Okeke (Ben Global) was awarded the contract to collect the revenues.
In 2017, Bright Ngene and the then Town Union PG, John Ewoh, caused to be paid into a corporate bank account that has Ngene and his wife as the signatories the sum of N15,750,000 collected by the contractor instead of a designated community account. When confronted during a community meeting at the village square, Ngene admitted receipt of the money and promised to remit it before the next meeting. But instead of keeping to his promise, Bright Ngene and John Ewoh petitioned the Commissioner of Police, accusing the two royal fathers and some community leaders of Akwuke communities of obstructing Town Union and Contract Committee functions.
Interestingly, it was at the mediation/interrogation by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP, that Ngene and Ewoh challenged the royal fathers and community leaders to make good their claim of embezzlement by petitioning the police. They refused the effort of the police to settle the matter. That was how the DCP, a Yoruba woman, then told the community leaders to go home and put their allegations in writing for investigation if they were sure of their claims.
Not done, Ngene and Ewoh dragged their community leaders before the Enugu State House of Assembly where Hon. Onyinye Ugwu, their alleged godmother and a principal officer of the Assembly, held sway. Their traditional rulers and leaders were made to face the House Committee on Public Petitions chaired by Hon. Philip Nnamani. But nothing came out of it.
With total war now declared on them, the two traditional rulers and leaders of Akwuke communities were left with no choice than to fight back. They petitioned the Commissioner of Police. Investigation established that Ngene indeed received the contentious N15,750,000 and proceeded to charge Ngene, Ewoh, and the contractor (Benneth Okeke) to court (case file number MEN/ 225C/2017). In October 2017, the accused were arraigned before His Worship A. O. Eze on a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing, with the communities applying for the Attorney General’s Fiat to prosecute the case in the belief they could still resolve the matter as brethren. Prosecution opened their case on 11th September 2017, calling witnesses before closing their case.
But instead of marshalling their defence, the Defendants embarked on a lengthy, windy, legal rigmarole to stall the case. First, they made a no case submission, which the court dismissed. Then they filed a petition to the Chief Judge of Enugu State, seeking a transfer of the case from Eze for the trial to start denovo (afresh), a request that was rejected. But just at the point Eze was to deliver judgement, he retired. They also used deliberate absence from court by one of the accused to frustrate the case. At one point, the case file got missing, but was later found. It was one trick after another.
So, when LP National Working Committee and state executive, go to town to defend their member/candidate convicted for stealing community funds claim that Ngene was summarily tried and sentenced, they forget that but for his delay tactics, he would likely have been serving his jail term long before the 2023 election.
Meanwhile, since Eze could not read the judgement before his retirement, the case was reassigned to His Worship, E.D Onwu and trial started afresh. The Prosecution called their witnesses, who testified and were carefully cross-examined by the Defence all over. Ngene (1st Defendant) testified in person for himself and also called witnesses, who testified on his behalf before closing his case. But again, he filed a petition against Onwu, and the matter was transferred to His Worship Ifeanyi Mammah.
Mammah was Bright Ngene’s classmate at the Law Faculty, Enugu State University of Science and Technology. Ngene gave evidence, but when he would not utilise the windows granted by the court for out-of-court settlement, Mammah washed his hands off the case like Pontius Pilate. The suspicion is that he probably didn’t want to jail his classmate, as the evidence, including the bank statement had done Ngene in.
The matter was returned to Onwu to complete the case, instead of starting denovo since he had heard the case before. Evidence abound how the Defendants and their Counsel would denigrate His Worship in court.
It needs to be underscored here that although it is a criminal matter and therefore a matter between the state and the Defendants, there were many opportunities for Bright Ngene to resolve the matter out-of-court with his kinsmen, but which he blew. For instance, Jerry Eneh, a senior lawyer, had applied to court to give him the opportunity to settle the matter. Several meetings were called. An illustrious son of Akwuke resident in the US, Chief Chris Ogbodo, also travelled down Nigeria to help resolve the matter. But whereas John Ewoh and Benneth Okeke would attend the meetings, Bright Ngene snubbed the peace efforts, insisting that he would never beg his royal fathers.
In fact, their Counsel, B.C Nwobodo, had to withdraw his services from Ngene on that account and only continued to represent the other Defendants. Ngene then hired Barr. C.C Ebonyi, who soon withdrew his services. Then he hired Barr. J.S.C Okereke.
Frustrated by Ngene’s intransigence, Akwuke communities gave up the fiat and the Attorney-General took back the case. At this point, instead of making peace, Ngene sent impostors, namely, Oliver Ede and Chibuzo Ngene to file for discontinuation of the case purportedly at the instance of Akwuke people, claiming to be the Presidents-General of the two Akwuke communities. Therefore, the authentic Town Union officials, traditional rulers, and community leaders stormed the court to declare the applicants were impostors. For instance, Ede’s tenure expired in June 2023 and Hon. Celestine Ugwu was elected on 28th December, 2023 as his successor.
At least, Ngene and Ewoh were found guilty on the charges of conspiracy and stealing and were sentenced to a reduced jail term of seven years each.
Obviously, Bright Ngene’s and LP’s self-inflicted woe leaves in tatters the fanatical and habitual attempts by LP supporters to confer sainthood on anyone, on account of his/her membership of their party, forgetting that these people are equally politicians. Or did any LP Senator/Representative reject the multi-million-naira jeeps given to them while the Nigerians go to bed hungry? Should it not worry LP supporters that of all the distinguished sons, daughters, and residents of Enugu South, only a man undergoing a criminal trial for embezzling community funds was good enough for LP’s State Assembly ticket? Does it not give credence to allegations of merchandising of LP’s tickets to the highest bidder, a major factor in the internal crisis rocking the party?
To conclude, Ngene is like that proverbial Nza (sparrow) who, after eating bellyful, challenged his personal god to a wrestling match or like that proverbial tortoise that continued on a senseless journey till he met his disgrace. Indeed, like Ezeulu, the Chief Priest of Ulu, deity of Umuaro, in Chinua Achebe’s “Arrow of God”, Ngene overstepped his bounds in his dealings with his people, and learned the hard way that “No man, no matter how great, can win judgement against his clan.” It is a case of whom the gods want to kill, they first make mad.
Ogbu wrote from Enugu
