Supreme Court Awards N2m Cost Against Cassidy Ikegbidi, Others For Violating Court Orders

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has awarded a total cost of ¦ 2 million against High Chief Cassidy Ikegbidi and other appellants in the protracted Eze Igbu Akoh II chieftaincy dispute, citing abuse of judicial process and disobedience of subsisting court orders, in a ruling that underscores growing judicial intolerance for procedural delays in long-running traditional leadership cases.
The decision, delivered on March 16, 2026, in Abuja by a five-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, arose from a series of applications filed by High Chief Cassidy O. W. Ikegbidi and others against HRH Eze Godspower Okorobia Okpagi and seven others, in a dispute over the rightful occupant of the Eze Igbu Akoh II stool in Igbu Akoh Kingdom of Ekpeye ethnic nationality in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Court proceedings revealed that the appellants had filed multiple motions before the Supreme Court, including an application seeking injunctive relief and another seeking leave to amend a ground of appeal. However, both applications were later withdrawn by the appellants after the respondents had already filed responses and appeared in court on several occasions.
Although counsel to the respondents did not oppose the withdrawal of the applications, they strongly urged the court to award costs, arguing that the appellants’ conduct had led to unnecessary delays and avoidable legal expenses. The respondents maintained that the repeated filing and subsequent withdrawal of applications amounted to a deliberate attempt to frustrate the judicial process.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court struck out the withdrawn applications but took a firm stance on the conduct of the appellants, holding that their actions constituted an abuse of court process. The court further noted that the appellants had acted in violation of subsisting injunctive orders earlier issued by the High Court and upheld by the Court of Appeal, a development that weighed heavily in its decision to impose sanctions.
Consequently, the apex court awarded a lump sum cost of ¦ 2 million against the appellants in favour of the 1st to 5th respondents as a punitive and deterrent measure, reinforcing the principle that litigants must approach the court with sincerity and respect for existing judicial orders.
The ruling, however, is strictly procedural and does not resolve the substantive issue of who is the rightful Eze Igbu Akoh II. Rather, it deals only with interlocutory applications that were brought before the court and subsequently withdrawn, leaving the core dispute to be decided at a later date.
The chieftaincy tussle, which has lingered for years, can be traced back to a judgment delivered on March 14, 2018, by the High Court sitting in Ahoada, presided over by Justice T.S. Oji, which reportedly ruled in favour of Eze Godspower Okorobia Okpagi. Dissatisfied with the outcome, the opposing parties pursued appeals, leading to a prolonged legal battle that moved through the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt and eventually to the Supreme Court.
While Eze Okpagi has consistently maintained that he is the only duly elected candidate for the Eze Igbu Akoh II stool, according to the customs and traditions of the Ekpeye ethnic nationality, as well as based on favourable court rulings, High Chief Cassidy Ikegbidi has continued to lay claim to the stool, a situation that has deepened tensions and prolonged uncertainty within the kingdom.
The immediate implication of the Supreme Court’s ruling is that the appellants have lost all pending interim reliefs, having withdrawn their applications, and now have no active motion before the apex court capable of altering the current legal position. More importantly, the injunctions granted by the High Court and affirmed by the Court of Appeal remain valid and binding, as they were neither set aside nor suspended by the Supreme Court.
This effectively places the respondents in a stronger position for now, as they continue to benefit from the subsisting judgments of the lower courts pending the final determination of the appeal. In contrast, the appellants must comply with the ¦ 2 million cost order and face a prolonged wait before the substantive issues in the case are heard.
Following the resolution of all pending applications, the Supreme Court adjourned the substantive appeal to March 19, 2029, a development that has generated mixed reactions among stakeholders, given the already lengthy duration of the dispute. The adjournment means that the final determination of the rightful occupant of the traditional stool will not be made for several more years, further extending a legal battle that has spanned nearly a decade.
Reacting to the ruling, Eze Godspower Okorobia Okpagi maintained that the decision reinforces the validity of earlier judgments in his favour, particularly as the Supreme Court declined to grant any relief that would have altered the status quo. He argued that the dismissal and withdrawal of the appellants’ applications confirm that the orders of the lower courts remain in full effect.
He further alleged that the appellants had taken steps inconsistent with those orders and accused them of employing delay tactics to prolong their hold on the situation, insisting that High Chief Ikegbidi should desist from parading himself as the Eze Igbu Akoh II pending the final determination of the appeal.
Legal observers note that chieftaincy disputes in Nigeria often become protracted due to their sensitive nature and the high cultural and political significance attached to traditional institutions, as well as the frequent filing of appeals and interlocutory applications that slow down the judicial process.