BY ISAN CARLOS
A Delta State High Court sitting in Ute-Ogbeje, Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State will on January 28, 2026 resume hearing on an application seeking for the issuance of a bench warrant against the Obi of Igbodo kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Obi Nkeobiku Osadume, over an alleged contempt of court.
It was gathered that the court, presided over by Justice M.O. Omovie, had earlier granted an order directing the respondents, his palace guard, chiefs, agents, employers, servants or privies from further ejecting the Obi’s wife from her official quarters pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
The court, it was learnt also directed the monarch to re-open the house of the petitioner, pending the determination of the motion on notice.
However, when the matter came up last Wednesday, counsel to the petitioner, Barr. Ifeanyi Agholor, reportedly brought a motion for a bench warrant against the monarch, but the court, in its ruling, was said to had set aside the application seeking the issuance of the bench warrant against the traditional ruler, as it failed to comply with the court processes.
Agholour had urged the court to issue a bench warrant against the monarch, alleging that he deliberately disobeyed a subsisting court order directing him to allow his wife and child access to their matrimonial home and shelter.
According to the counsel, the failure of the monarch to comply with the order amounted to contempt of court, warranting the intervention of the court through the issuance of a bench warrant to compel compliance and uphold the authority of the judiciary.
However, the application was strongly challenged by counsel to the monarch, Barr. Raymond Isitor, who filed an interlocutory application urging the court to set aside the contempt proceedings. Isitor argued that the alleged contempt application was fundamentally defective, as it was not properly served on the respondent in line with due process of law.
He submitted that service of court processes was a critical requirement in contempt proceedings, especially given their quasi-criminal nature and that failure to effect proper service denied the respondent the constitutional right to fair hearing as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
During the proceedings, the contempt application was eventually served on Barr. Isitor by the opposing counsel within the court room. Upon acknowledging receipt of the application, Isitor immediately moved an oral application for adjournment, requesting adequate time to study, review and respond appropriately to the allegations contained in the contempt motion.
In its ruling, the court granted the application for adjournment, noting that the interests of justice and fair hearing required that the respondent be given sufficient opportunity to respond to the allegations. Consequently, the court set aside the motion seeking the issuance of a bench warrant against the monarch.
The court emphasized that coercive order such as bench warrants must be exercised with caution, particularly where issues of proper service and compliance with procedural rules are in dispute.
The matter was thereafter adjourned to January 28, 2026, for further hearing and continuation of proceedings.
