A businessman, Mr. Chinedu Anaukwu, has taken former House of Representatives member for Anambra East and West Federal Constituency, Hon. Chinedu Obidigwe, to court for allegedly assaulting him following a public comment demanding accountability for his performance as a lawmaker.
Obidigwe, who served as the representative of the constituency, allegedly carried out the assault in 2023, shortly before the general election.
According to Anaukwu, “It was in 2023, just before the general election. I had posted in the Aguleri World Forum, a WhatsApp group, demanding accountability from Obidigwe, who was then seeking re-election to the House of Representatives.
“I stated that he had spent over three years in the National Assembly, and that before aspiring for a second term, he should give us an account of his constituency funds and other achievements in the area.
“His boys were not pleased with my comments. One day, he confronted me with more than 13 thugs and ordered them to kill me. They beat me until I lost consciousness,” Anaukwu said.
When the matter came up on Tuesday at the Otuocha High Court in Anambra East Local Government Area, counsel to Anaukwu, Chief Gozie Obi (SAN), withdrew the charges against the second and fifth defendants, who were identified as aides to Obidigwe and alleged participants in the assault.
It was disclosed in court that the second defendant is deceased, while the fifth defendant had not been served with court processes.
Speaking to journalists, Obi said: “Today is the first time the matter is coming up for pretrial hearing. During the proceedings, it came to light that the second defendant is late, and since you can’t sue a dead person, we had to withdraw the charges against him.
“Also, the fifth defendant was not served properly, but we wanted the case to progress. Therefore, we withdrew against him as well,especially since the principal defendant is Obidigwe. The others were merely his aides and acted on his instruction.”
During the sitting, Hon. Obidigwe was represented by his lawyer, Barr. Emmanuel Offoh.
The case was adjourned to November 18 for the continuation of the pretrial session before the commencement of full hearing.
It was gathered that the plaintiff, Anaukwu, is demanding N200 million in compensation for the assault and is also seeking criminal conviction.
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