Former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, has filed an application before a Federal High Court in Enugu, challenging what he called the total neglect of the Southeast zone.

He is also asking for the sum of N1 trillion as damages to be shared among the five Southeast states.

The fundamental rights class action, which is before Justice A. R. Mohammed, is on behalf of himself and the Southeast zone on the grounds of discrimination, pursuant to Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Agbakoba is asking these on the ground of total neglect of the geopolitical zone by the Federal Government, in terms of infrastructure and general federal presence.

He also said the Federal Government has left the Niger Bridge to collapse and failure to build the ‘Second Niger Bridge,’ making the applicant feel isolated from other parts of the country and causing him apprehension about disaster on crossing the existing bridge.

Agbakoba is also seeking an order directing the Federal Government to forthwith put all its machinery, including, but not limited to legal and political apparatus, in motion, with a view to urgently create two additional states in the Southeast geopolitical zone.

This, according to him, would bring a balance with the seven states in the Northwest, and thereby bring to an end the discriminatory practices against the Southeast zone, in terms of legislative representation, political and judicial appointments and not federal allocation accruing to the zone.

No date has been fixed for the hearing. (The Guardian)

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