By Ekuson Nw’Ogbunka
Abuja
The Supreme Court on Friday, June 5, 2026, dismissed an appeal filed by 11 communities in Anambra State and affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal. The decision means the communities will no longer have autonomous status, according to a statement by Prodis Construction Global Limited on Friday.
The dispute dates back to 2002 when the Anambra State House of Assembly passed a law recognizing several communities as autonomous. The affected communities include: Isioba, Uruagu Nnewi, Isuanaoma, Ifite Amanuke, Igbo-ezenu Aguleri, Isi-Achina, Ikenga Nri, Paste Ibughubu, Awuda Nnobi, Achalaukwu, and Akweezekenyi.
In 2004, the same Assembly repealed the 2002 law, stripping the communities of autonomous status. The communities challenged the repeal in court, arguing it violated their fundamental human rights to peaceful assembly. A lower court ruled in their favor and set aside the repeal law.
Dissatisfied, the Anambra State Government appealed. The Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the state government, holding that the 2004 repeal law only removed the “autonomous” label and status, but did not extinguish the communities themselves. The appellate court restored the 2004 repeal law as valid and subsisting.
The aggrieved communities then took the case to the Supreme Court. In its judgment delivered on June 5, 2026, the apex court dismissed their appeal and upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision. The ruling effectively validates the 2004 repeal law.
Prodis Construction Global Limited said the implication of the Supreme Court’s decision is that the listed communities no longer have autonomous community status henceforth. The ruling brings to a close over two decades of legal battle over recognition and traditional leadership structure in the affected areas.
