The Amanyanabo of Abonnema in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, His Majesty King Disrael Gbobo Bob-Manuel, has filed a legal objection to a suit seeking his removal from the throne over allegations of sorcery.

The suit, marked DCC/RS/9/2025, was instituted by Alabo David T. Briggs, a chief and member of the Kalabari Ekine Sekiapu society, before the Degema Customary Court. Briggs is seeking the monarch’s dethronement based on an unresolved 2012 accusation that he was identified as an aribo—a derogatory term in Kalabari tradition referring to someone involved in witchcraft.

According to the plaintiff, the monarch’s refusal to undergo a traditional cleansing rite and his failure to successfully challenge past defamation rulings render him unfit to continue as king. Briggs argued that this constitutes a breach of Kalabari native laws and customs, and thus calls for King Bob-Manuel’s abdication.

In response, King Bob-Manuel, alongside six other co-defendants—all senior chiefs of the Abonnema Council of Chiefs—filed an objection, arguing that the case is statute-barred.

Citing Section 16 of the Limitation Law, Cap. 80 of Rivers State, the monarch’s legal team stated that the claim is invalid due to the 13-year lapse since the alleged cause of action in 2012, exceeding the five-year limitation period prescribed by law.

“The alleged cause of action dates back to 2012. The suit was filed in April 2025—13 years later—well beyond the limitation period,” the filing read.

The court is yet to fix a date for hearing the objection, which could have far-reaching implications for traditional leadership and the handling of customary disputes in the Kalabari kingdom.

Abonnema, historically a prominent seaport during the colonial era, once hosted major European trading companies, including the Royal Niger Company, which later became the United Africa Company (UAC).