MASSOM Update: Uwazuruike obtains court order against arrest

The embattled leader of the Movement for the Actualiza­tion of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MAS­SOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, yesterday obtained court injunc­tion from an Owerri High court restrain­ing the Commissioner Police, Imo State and his agents from car­rying out their threat of arresting or declar­ing him wanted should he fail to honour their summons over the cri­sis rocking the group in which four persons died.
The Imo State police command had on Thurs­day during press briefing summoned the MASSOB leader to appear before the commissioner within 24 hours to explain his role or involvement in the fracas that had resulted in the death of four members of the group at the Okwe Freedom House, Head­quarters, or be declared a wanted person in the state.
However, Chief Ralph Uwauzurike in his appli­cation for an order for the enforcement of his funda­mental right, maintained that the police never ex­tended any invitation to him whether orally or written, stating that such action of the police consti­tutes gross violation of his fundamental right to fair hearing as provided un­der the 1999 Constitution as amended and is there­fore unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect whatever.
In suit No: HOW/ 549/2914 filed against the Commissioner of Police, Imo State, by his lawyer, Barrister Emma Chukwu­ka, the MASSOB leader is seeking a declaration that the threat by the re­spondents to declare him wanted when no invita­tion whatever was given to him, when he has not com­mitted any offense known to law to warrant such declaration constitutes a violation of his rights to liberty as provided under the said constitution and therefore null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
He pleaded for an order to restrain the respondents, and their agents from de­claring him wanted as he did not commit any of­fense warranting the re­spondents to declare him wanted, and injunction re­straining the respondents, either by their servants, agents or privies from any manhunt of him and from further violation of his fundamental rights and from arresting or detaining him when he has not com­mitted any offence known to law pending the deter­mination of the suit.