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Court had declared Iyo Royal Family next to produce Amadabo.
The traditional leadership crisis in Ogurama, a Kalabari community in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, has deepened following allegations of threats to the life of Prince Ibiba Inko Omoni Williams, who is being presented by the Iyo Royal Family as the Amadabo-Elect of Ogurama.
The latest development has revived questions over the implementation of a December 2025 judgment of the Rivers State High Court, which expressly determined the succession rights of the royal families in Ogurama.
In its judgment in Suit No. DHC/24/2009, the High Court, delivered by, Hon Justice. Dr. O David Gbasam .j, declared the Alabiomoni Royal House the only Royal House in Ogurama Community and held that the Amadabo Chieftaincy Stool rotates according to seniority among the Ikiba, Iyo, Teme and Daba Royal Families constituting the Alabiomoni Royal House.
More significantly, the court declared that, following the death of late HRH Evans Bille, the Iyo Royal Family was the next royal family entitled to produce the Amadabo of Ogurama.
The court subsequently ordered the Iyo Royal Family to unanimously nominate a person to be presented to the Alabiomoni Royal House for installation as Amadabo. It also issued an injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, relatives and privies from interfering with the Iyo Royal Family’s right to produce the next Amadabo.
From Mapuibi to Ibiba
Following the court’s determination, the Iyo Royal Family, according to information provided by members of the family, initially selected Prince Mapuibi Inko Omoni Williams before subsequently choosing Prince Ibiba Inko Omoni Williams as its nominee for the stool via a letter on September 9th, 2026 signed by family elders.
Prince Ibiba is therefore now being presented by his supporters as the Amadabo-Elect, following the exercise of the succession right which the court had vested in the Iyo Royal Family.
The development, however, has been complicated by the inordinate emergence of Monima Evans Bille, who has reportedly been presented or installed Harmony Douglas.
Prince Ibiba alleges that Harmony Douglas had, against established judicial norms, declared one Monima Evans Bille as Amadabo of Ogurama in 2023, in disregard for ongoing court case to determining the rightful family to peacefully produce the amadabo. The declaration was brutal by the use of arms wielding gangs deployed by Harmony to intimidate and brutalize the people of Ogurama, including the regent, Hon. Benjamin Orugbani and his son, who were beaten and barely escaped with their lives. According to Prince Ibiba,
It is noteworthy that Harmony Douglas is from Krakrama community and not a member of the royal family of Ogurama.
Challenge to Monima’s eligibility
Supporters of Prince Ibiba claim that Monima Evans Bille has no right of succession to the Ogurama throne, arguing that his father originated from Ilelema community and that Monima therefore does not belong to the royal succession line recognised under Oguruama custom.
They contend that the emergence of Monima as Amadabo is consequently inconsistent with the succession arrangement affirmed by the High Court.
The significance of that argument lies in the fact that the court did not merely identify a preferred candidate. It determined that the Iyo Royal Family was the next family to produce the occupant of the stool and specifically restrained interference with that right.
Allegations of force and intimidation
The dispute has now taken an increasingly serious turn.
According to Prince Ibiba , individuals opposed to his emergence have allegedly resorted to intimidation, while he has accused some members of the police of conduct which, he alleges, favours his rivals.
He further alleges that after Harmony Douglas, brought thugs into the community and used force to facilitate the installation of Monima Evans Bille. They had gone ahead to use the stool for collection of monies from companies to feather their nest.
The December 2025 judgment provides a clear judicial determination on the immediate succession sequence: the Alabiomoni Royal House remains the recognised Royal House; the stool rotates among its constituent royal families; and the Iyo Royal Family is next to produce the Amadabo.
The immediate dispute now appears to centre on whether the process contemplated by the court will be respected, who validly represents the Iyo Royal Family in exercising that right, and whether the emergence of Monima Evans Bille can stand alongside the court’s determination that the Iyo Royal Family is next in line to produce the Amadabo.
For Ogurama, the concern extends beyond the identity of an individual claimant. The allegations of threats, intimidation and alleged police involvement have introduced a potentially dangerous security dimension into what began as a dispute over traditional succession.
Prince Ibiba alleges that the Chairman of the Degema local government council Hon. Michael John Williams is being partial, ( he says one Amieyeofori LongJohn is one of his aides). Amieyeofori is also the Chief Security Officer appointed by Monima Bille to hold the people of Ogurama under siege. Amieyeofori has long-standing allegations of complicity in crimes. He also further accused the DPO of the Degema Police Division, Angus Inyiruika, of alleged partiality and bias in his handling of the ongoing Ogurama royal crisis.
According to Prince Ibiba, the DPO has refused to provide police protection for him and his supporters when they seek to visit Oguruama, despite what he described as the heavy presence of thugs and armed youths in the community. He alleged that, in contrast, the police have provided protection to his rivals and Harmony Douglas, even though the court had recognised the Iyo Royal Family’s right to produce the next Amadabo of Oguruama.
Prince Ibiba further alleged that the DPO, acting on a fake petition and trumped up charges, ordered the detention of his brothers, refused to grant them bail (despite orders from a high ranking
police officer ordering their release)
and subsequently had one of them an 83 year old uncle with serious medical condition transferred to Borokiri Police Station, after a two day detention in Degema police division, an action
he described as another attempt to intimidate and weaken the Iyo Royal Family.
More troubling, Prince Ibiba alleges that he has information of plans to eliminate him should he continue to pursue the matter.
