A businessman, Mr. Chinedu Anaukwu, has filed a lawsuit against a former member of the House of Representatives from Anambra State, Hon. Chinedu Obidigwe, accusing him of assault in response to a demand for accountability.

 

According to Anaukwu, the incident occurred in 2023, shortly before the general elections. He said he had posted a message on a WhatsApp group, Aguleri World Forum, questioning Obidigwe’s performance as a federal lawmaker representing Anambra East/West Federal Constituency. At the time, Obidigwe was seeking re-election.

 

“I simply asked for a breakdown of his achievements and how he spent constituency funds during his three years in office,” Anaukwu said. “But his supporters didn’t take it lightly. One day, he confronted me with over 13 thugs and ordered them to kill me. They beat me until I lost consciousness.”

 

The matter came up for pretrial hearing on Tuesday at the Otuocha High Court in Anambra East Local Government Area. During the proceedings, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Chief Gozie Obi, SAN, withdrew charges against the second and fifth defendants, who were reportedly aides to Obidigwe and involved in the attack.

 

Obi explained that the second defendant had passed away, and the fifth had yet to be served with court papers. “You can’t sue a deceased person, so we had to withdraw. We also withdrew against the fifth defendant to allow the case move forward, especially since Obidigwe is the principal figure in the assault and the others acted under his orders,” Obi said.

 

Obidigwe was represented in court by his lawyer, Barrister Emmanuel Offoh.

 

The case was adjourned to November 18, 2025, for the continuation of the pretrial session ahead of the full hearing.

 

Anaukwu is seeking N200 million in damages for the assault and is asking the court to convict the former lawmaker.