A court bailiff attached to the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt has been feared dead in Aba, Abia State over the beating he sustained while trying to effect service on some members of a faction of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN),Aba Depot.
The court bailiff identified as Abiye David was said to have stormed the NNPC Aba Depot to serve Notice of consequence of disobedience to court order known as Form 48, to some members of the Chinedu Okoronkwo and Gilbert Nwoke led faction of the Association.
247ureports.com gathered that the Federal High Court had on March 20, 2014 delivered judgment in favour of Chief Lawson Obasi as the authentic national president of IPMAN.
Acting on the judgment, Obasi appointed Lawrence Kanu, Emmanuel Ogbonna as well as others as Caretaker Committee members to run IPMAN, Aba depot for three months pending when election would be held.
Our correspondent gathered that the Okoronkwo and Nwoke faction refused to vacate office or hand over to the Obasi group, leading to the court ordering service of notice of consequence of disobedience to court on them.
Those who were said to be served with the Form 48 include Sir Gilbert Nwoke, Aliche Oti, Ugochukwu Mbakwe and Kingsley Udeonu.
Others include Chigozie Amazu, Ikechukwu Okeoma, Austin Egelonu and Emeka Ogalabu.
The court bailiff was said to have successfully served the first set of people the notice, but could not locate the second set of people.
Trouble started for the bailiff following day when he showed up at the Aba depot IPMAN office to effect service but got information that the people he was looking for were meeting in a hotel.
The court bailiff was said to have stormed the hotel located at the Okpu Umuobo road,Aba but was beaten up and his identity card seized as he made to serve the notice.
After inflicting injuries on the bailiff, the Okoronkwo and Gilbert led faction later invited soldiers from the Army Unit at Ngwa High School, Aba who also beat up the bailiff alleging that he is a kidnapper.
The soldiers later handed over the bailiff to the police in Aba. When news about the incident got to the factional chairman of IPMAN, Aba depot unit, Lawrence Kanu, he went to the police station to identify David as a bailiff of Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, but was harassed and detained by the police who transferred both of them to the state police headquarters at Umuahia. The Commissioner of Police later ordered their release after a day in detention.
A member of the Obasi faction who declined to have his name on print told 247ureports.com that the court bailiff has been in hospital as a result of the beatings he received from the IPMAN faction and soldiers.
When his views was sought on the incident, spokesperson of the Okoronkwo and Nwoke led faction IPMAN, Aba depot, Simple Nwankpa told our correspondent, “The problem was between the bailiff and the hotel management, IPMAN should be counted out of this,” he said.
When contacted, Abia Police spokesman, ASP Geoffrey Ogbonna claimed not to be aware of the incident as at the time of filing this report.
