The Bayelsa State Government has directed the arrest and prosecution of persons and groups who engage in the unlawful and the forceful removal of duly recognised chiefs in the state.

The State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Kemasuode Wodu, handed down this directive in a statement issued on Wednesday in Yenagoa. He noted “with serious concern, reports of arbitrary removal of chiefs that are duly recognised by the State Governor by youth groups and other persons.”

Wodu pointed out that, by virtue of the Chieftaincy Law of Baelsa State, only the State Governor is vested with the powers to remove a recognised Chief from office in accordance with due-process. He stressed that any attempt to unlawfully remove a duly recognised Chief or hold out any other person in place amounts to a criminal offence under sections 28n and 29 of the Chieftaincy Law Cap C4.

The Attorney-General further explained that any such purported removal or dethronement and appointment of another person in his place is not only ineffectual, but also null and void, under the chieftaincy laws of the state.

Update news