NOTICE OF DISCLAIMER TO THE CAPPING, PRESENTATION AND INVESTITURE OF MR. ADIEYESIGHA JOHN PHILLIP HALLIDAY AS SE- ALABO OF HALLIDAY MAJOR HOUSE OF GRAND BONNY KINGDOM
In the aftermath of the presentation and induction of Mr. Adiesighia John Phillip Halliday, we have been inundated with phone calls, messages and enquiries from members of our clan and others in Halliday Major House, friends, well-wishers and the public asking to know our position, as the direct descendants of Late Chief Charles Nwachu Halliday comprising (11) ‘Burusu’ (fundamental units) in the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House, on the events and occurrences in the House.
The self-serving presentation of Mr. Adiesighia John Phillip Halliday by a section of the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House to the king and Amanyanabo of Bonny, for investiture on the 28th of June 2025 was in defiance of an appeal before the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division in Suit No CA/PH/502/2024, in the matter of which we are the appellants.
On the 18th of November 2024, the respondents counsel was served with the Notice of Appeal and Motion for injunction, for all parties to maintain the status quo. On the same day, the then Chairman of Bonny Local Government Council, Hon. Dame Anengi Barasua-Claude Wilcox JP, as the Chief Security Officer held a meeting with three (3) out of the four (4) substantive elders of Halliday Major House; Mr. Finapiri Halliday, represented the respondents, in the absence of Warisenibo Ray Okata Halliday – the only substantive elder supporting the respondents. After the meeting and based on security reports from a frontline security agency, the Chief Security Officer of Bonny Local Government Authority had cause to issue a security advisory and directive via letter Ref: OLGA/ADM/12/VOL.1/337 dated 18th November, 2024 to Mr. Adassa Williams Kekebo Halliday the so-called Secretary of the respondents’ faction in the House, on behalf of himself and other members of the group ‘to put on hold the capping of Mr. Adiesighia John Phillip Halliday slated for the 19th of November 2024. (See annexure marked A for the Council’s letter). The Divisional Police in Bonny and the state security services were notified.
With total disregard for the filed Notice of Appeal and Motion for injunction, for all parties to maintain the status quo, pending the hearing of the appeal and other motions in the appellate Court and the flagrant flouting of the directives of the Chief Security Officer, a duly constituted Governmental authority in the area, the respondents resorted to self-help to actualize their plan, which regrettably was carried out by the respondents unchallenged by the relevant authorities.
We had observed their desperation and sinister plans to achieve their goal at all costs, but as peace-loving and law-abiding citizens, we reigned in on our teeming supporters to refrain from the path of violence and threat to peace, as we believe that nobody’s ambition is worth the blood of any member of the Halliday Major House. Furthermore, we were appalled by the fact that Bonny Chiefs’ Council knew full well that there was clear evidence of division in Halliday Major House, with the exclusion and non-involvement of many ‘Burusu” including but not limited to those of the descendants of late Chief Charles Nwachu Halliday, and majority of the current and substantive elders of the House.
With the hijack, and control of Halliday Major House funds, they procured the services of unorthodox security operatives, to carry out their illegal capping ceremonies. Despite all these anomalies, Bonny Chiefs’ Council sent representatives to the capping ceremony and associated rites which took place at Late Chief Charles Halliday’s Agbalama village, in total disregard for the judicial, security, and traditional implications of such actions. Is this not a breach of the tenets of Bonny customs and traditions?
As respecters of the rule of law, once again, we followed up with another motion to set aside the capping and filed another petition for injunction, to maintain the status quo ahead of the investiture. The respondents’ Counsel was duly served with the motions, and this was brought to the notice of Bonny Chiefs’ Council.
That members of Bonny Chiefs’ Council participated in the capping and investiture ceremonies during the pendency of the motion to set aside the capping, and the appeal in the courts, was shocking to say the least. This is at variance with any respect for the rule of law and a desire for lasting peace by all parties in the crisis. We had expected Bonny Chiefs’ Council to be an impartial arbiter in these matters.
Based on the foregoing, we, the direct descendants of Late Chief Charles Nwachu Halliday of the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House hereby declare as follows:
- That we disclaim and dissociate our ‘Burusu’ and kindred families from the purported capping, investiture and other rites and rights conferred on or as claimed by Mr. Adiesighia John Phillip Halliday in Halliday Major Chieftaincy House.
- That Amaopusenibo Victor Richard Halliday, who paraded himself as the Chairman of Halliday Major Chieftaincy House Elders’ Council and promoted Mr. Adiesighia John Phillip Halliday’s candidacy was not a ‘Burusu’ elder ab initio but an Honorary elder. He was unqualified to be Chairman of Halliday Major House Elders’ Council to superintend over the emergence of a Chief for the House. This was our initial ground for the opposition of Amaopusenibo Victor Richard Halliday’s claims and activities in Halliday Major House and the processes through which Mr. Adiesigha John Phillip Halliday emerged as the sole candidate for the chieftaincy of the House.
The Bonny Chiefs Council in their publication, Ref: BCC/EM/VOL.IX/34, dated 2nd March 2024 reinforced our position. The relevant portion of the publication stated inter alia that “A House cabinet is strictly for inducted ‘Burusu” heads, and the Chief may recognize an individual on self-recognition (Honorary) into the House cabinet but limited to self and not fundamental unit. An individual on self-recognition by the Chief is at best an Honorary member of the cabinet. He does not have equal status with a Burusu head. He cannot participate in any election or selection process to produce a House Chief “. (See annexure B for Bonny Chiefs Council letter Ref BCC/EM/VOL1X/34, of 2nd March 2024 captioned Bonny kingdom structure Sustenance and Peaceful Coexistence ‘guidelines, rules and regulations from the Apex traditional institutions in the kingdom should be applied indiscriminately to earn the respect and loyalty of all. They are meant to be implemented and obeyed for institutions to endure. It is also instructive that the judgement of the lower court which the respondents have interpreted to suit their clannish purposes, did not declare Mr. Adiesighia John Phillip Halliday as Chief-elect of the House neither did it confer any right on him. The judgment, which was bereft of any consequential order, rather advised all parties to ensure inclusiveness in matters of the chieftaincy of the House. Rather than pursue inclusiveness and fence-mending, they hurriedly went ahead to foist an unpopular candidate upon the House.
3. That we disapprove of and reject the capping and investiture of Mr. Adiesighia John Phillip Halliday for judicial and traditional reasons. We were conspiratorially excluded from the outset and subsequently taken to court seeking to restrain us perpetually from having anything to do with the chieftaincy of the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House. Their matter was struck out by the courts, and our counterclaim was not upheld, which is now the subject matter of our appeal. There is also the contempt of court proceedings against them which will come up for hearing in October 2025 after years of unexplained delays.
We are the descendants of the highly revered, first-known Country Chief of Halliday Major Chieftaincy House, the Late Chief Charles N. Halliday, with proven precedents and legacies. The respondents whose ancestors were predominantly the Late Chief Charles N. Halliday’s subjects and adoptees have chosen to denigrate his person and desecrate his immense foundational leadership, contributions and legacies in the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House.
4. That the descendants of Chief Charles N. Halliday as represented by our ‘Burusu’ and others refute the chieftaincy claims of Mr. Adiesigha John Phillip Halliday, and all the processes carried out with impunity in total disregard for Bonny customs and traditions, and the existing Appeal case pending in Court. Presently there are only four (4) Burusu elders in the House namely 1. Warisenibo (Dr) Dennis F. Charles Halliday; 2. Warisenibo Harry Adango Charles Halliday; 3. Warisenibo Hayford Abalagha Halliday Treasurer; and 4. Warisenibo Ray Okata Halliday, the Burusu elder of Okoronkwo Ofo Halliday, to which Amaopusenibo Victor Richard Halliday belongs.
We acknowledge that the said Amaopusenibo Victor Richard Halliday was originally awarded an honorary title of ‘Warisenibo’ by Late Chief Justin Jim-Halliday in Jim-Halliday Minor House; this title was later transferred to Halliday Major House, with no statutory powers. His acclaimed Chairmanship of Halliday Major House is at the root of this crisis.
As a matter of customs and traditions, the elders of Jim-Halliday Minor Chieftaincy House (Kalawari) are not statutory elders of the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House, therefore cannot replace the elders of Halliday Major Chieftaincy House or actively participate by way of voting, to elect a Chief for Halliday Major House (Opuwari). In their opaque and discredited process that led to the emergence of Mr. Adiesigha John Phillip Halliday, the elders of Jim-Halliday Minor House were recruited for this exercise, to actively participate in, and vote to get their desired outcome, because the respondents did not have enough Burusu support in Halliday Major House, to achieve their goals. Paradoxically, how many elders from Halliday Major House voted for the emergence of Se-Alabo Elliot Kalada Jim-Halliday of the Jim-Halliday Minor House?
5. We aver that for as long as our matters are in Courts of competent jurisdiction, we shall not recognize the headship of Mr. Adiesigha John Phillip Halliday and shall have nothing to do with him as he does not have our mandate. As law abiding citizens, we have subjected ourselves to the Judicial processes, rule of law and to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and are therefore, determined to diligently prosecute our two matters in court viz appeal of the judgement of the lower court at the Court of Appeal in Suit No. CA/PH/502/2024, and the contempt proceedings in Suit No. PHC/3192/CS/2020
6. The role of the Bonny Chiefs’ Council in the impasse in Halliday Major House has not been salutary. We expected the Bonny Chiefs’ Council to play the role of an impartial arbiter in conduct and perception as custodians of the customs and tradition of the kingdom, based on their antecedents of having intervened and successfully resolved disputes in a few Chieftaincy Houses, including matters that border on the occupation of elders’ stools in the absence of a substantive House Chief. On the contrary, our experience leaves much to be desired. In the recent past our request for approval to fill the vacant stools in the House was disapproved by the erstwhile Chairman of Bonny Chiefs’ Council, Lt. Col. Aminiowugha Owen Manilla Pepple. Yet, Amaopusenibo Victor Richard Halliday, an honorary elder, in a disreputable process, inducted Mr. Adiesigha John Phillip Halliday into Halliday Major House Elders’ Council and put him up as the sole candidate for election as Chief of the House. Is that the tradition and custom of Bonny?
In 2024 we were invited to a meeting, which we attended but the representatives of Bonny Chiefs’ Council and our opponents did not show up. At the rescheduled meeting, innocuous observations made by us and our objections to some of our opponents’ actions were not well received. The current Chairman’s harsh and uncomplimentary utterances forced us to leave the meeting. We left the meeting without any doubt that the reportage of the meeting to His Royal Majesty will be skewed in our disfavor, knowing our opponents’ antics of continuing to engage in cunning maneuvers, misinformation, propaganda, and influence-peddling. Regrettably, we missed the opportunity to lay bare the facts of the dispute in the House. A point of note: Jim-Halliday Minor Chieftaincy House did not have a Chief for more than half a century, how did their Burusu elders emerge?
We want to categorically state that the elders of Jim-Halliday Chieftaincy House are complicit in the problems of the Halliday Major House having taken sides with the subjects of late Chief Charles Halliday, to rubbish Bonny customs, and traditions, and undermine the established processes and traditions in Halliday Major House.
The stance of the Bonny Chiefs’ Council also reminds us of some events of the past. At the onset of the problems in the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House, three (3) substantive elders with members of our Burusu petitioned the Bonny Chiefs’ Council Ref: HMH/NO1/1419, dated 14th January, 2019, against the release of the sum of N40,000,000.00 million (Forty million Naira) paid in two tranches of N20,000,000.00 (Twenty million Naira) each to the account proposed by the other group in the House. The Petition was disregarded by Bonny Chiefs’ Council, and the monies were released to the account controlled by the opposition; they clandestinely replaced the original signatories to the account, including the Treasurer of the House – Warisenibo Hayford Abalagha Halliday and Warisenibo Harry Adango Charles Halliday the Secretary of the House with their preferred signatories. (How do you operate accounts of a House with stooges) The outcome is that the N40,000,000.00 (Forty Million Naira) have been used by a faction of the House (the opposition) without accountability, or positive developmental impact in the House. During the COVID-19 pandemic, no palliatives were distributed to members of the House, though a portion of the money was meant for that purpose. We are aware that some Houses, serious about the welfare of their members, shared portions of the money amongst the Burusu in their respective Houses, while utilizing the balance of the money to execute tangible projects in their respective Houses. In due course, we shall ask questions about all monies disbursed to Halliday Major House thus far.
If we may ask, what prevented the Bonny Chiefs’ Council from placing the funds in an escrow account or suspend disbursement of the funds until peace returned to the House? Are there no Houses that their monies were withheld even without a major conflict as it is in the Halliday Major House? Is it acceptable for a group or faction to use the resources of a House to fight other members of the same House, especially major stakeholders such as our clan, in terms of representations and contributions from times of yore to the present times and expect peace to reign? Is it okay for people to use the commonwealth of our collective House to upgrade themselves to be fit and proper to become a chief?
The reckless spending of the money belonging to Halliday Major Chieftaincy House is as serious as any issue can be. Anyone with the ambition to rule over us in the Halliday Major House must be a person of impeccable financial and moral integrity.
Presently the descendants of Chief Charles Nwachu Halliday have eleven (11) legacy Burusu Stools in Halliday Major House. These stools are original and have all been occupied at different times by our ancestors. They are ancient, indivisible and invariable. Their statuses and rights must be recognized, preserved and not tampered with. These Burusu stools cannot be varied, amended or altered. Our elders emerge through birthright and seniority within the ‘Burusu” before presentation to Chief of the House for induction and investiture; it is not based on election or appointment from any quarters. No chief has the right to meddle in the affairs of our ‘Burusu” or seek to appoint a Warisenibo for our Burusu or mastermind the appointment of anyone to any of our Burusu stools at the Elders’ Council. We shall oppose and seek redress against any attempt to bypass, disregard or undermine our ‘Burusu” by anybody in Halliday Major House or from elsewhere.
7. Mr. Adiesigha John Phillip Halliday cannot create a Burusu (fundamental unit) to reward his sponsors and followers as the protocol and condition for such is different from the appointment of honorary elders. He must operate within the confines of the established and existing ‘Burusu” in the House. The Halliday Major Chieftaincy House has up to 20 established Burusu stools and are known to us. We shall oppose any deviation from the established patterns and norms of the House or the arbitrary use of the office for self-perpetuation or victimization of perceived opponents. Any attempt to undermine any of these existing stools and to promote unknown ones will also be challenged.
8. That there is no chieftaincy stool called or known as ‘Aloki” in the Halliday Major House. Our ancestors have ruled the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House for over a century and none of them used the chieftaincy title of ‘Aloki’. The respondents pleaded in court that King Awusa was the first Chief of Halliday Major House, that after he abdicated the throne, he became the first Chief of Halliday Major Chieftaincy House.
We have maintained that Chieftaincy institutions came into existence under King Captain Perekule 1. The Perekule dynasty and the Bonny Chiefs Council should have archives and historical records to correct these distortions of history. Historical facts such as known titles to stools and original occupants in the hallowed Chambers of the Bonny Chiefs’ Council should not be far-fetched. We will be surprised if there are no historical records in the archives of the Bonny Chiefs’ Council to show what Chieftaincy titles have been in use in Halliday Major House and the occupants at various times, to correct this grand falsification of history and reliance on a single discredited source of historical reference by the respondents.
9. We shall diligently prosecute our two matters before the Courts, one of which is our pending appeal at the Appeals Court and the other, the contempt proceedings instituted against Mr. Adiesigha John Phillip Halliday and other defendants before the Rivers State High Court.
10. That for the above reasons, we shall not recognize the Chieftaincy claims of Mr. Adiesigha John Phillip Halliday in Halliday Major Chieftaincy House and warn that any infringement on our rights as a clan and as members of the House and together with the Burusu of the adopted sons of our ancestor shall be resisted internally and externally within the ambit of the law.
The ‘Burusu’ and fundamental units of the lineage of Late Chief Charles N. Halliday are as listed below for the attention of all.
- Chief Charles Halliday Burusu
- Chief James Tamunoitemebara Charles Halliday Burusu
- Chief John Ibifubara Charles Halliday Burusu
- Chief Emmanuel J. Charles Halliday Burusu
- Warisenibo Harry Karibi Charles Halliday Burusu
- Chief Mathew Tamunoiyeowuna Charles Halliday Burusu
- Warisenibo Amafiri Charles Halliday Burusu
- Warisenibo Emmanuel Nnagh Charles Halliday Burusu
- Warisenibo Willie Charles Halliday Burusu
- Warisenibo Fagan Charles Halliday Burusu
- Warisenibo Rogers Ibiogo Charles Halliday Burusu
SIGNATORIES:
Warisenibo (Dr). Dennis. F. M. Charles Halliday
Warisenibo Harry Adango Charles Halliday
Mr. Reginald Charles Halliday
Mr. Opuada Charles – Halliday
Amasenibo Charles E.J.C. Halliday
Mr. Charles J. Halliday
Mr. Barasuaipiri Frank Charles-Halliday
Engr. Norman Labonimiya Halliday
Mr. Dabooju Cousin Charles-Halliday
Mr. Igoni E.J.C. Haliday
Mr. Warigbani F. Charles Halliday
Mr. Eldred Omuso Charles Halliday
Mr. Kennedy Idaopu I. Charles Halliday
Mr. Stephen Kalada Charles Halliday
Mr. Eric Dipiri Halliday
Pastor Abarasi A. Charles Halliday
Mr. Reginald Asinyetogha Halliday
Mr. Owusibo Halliday
Mr. Ibikiri Cousin Charles Halliday
Mr. Iyowuna E. J.C Halliday
Mr. Gibson Dipiri Halliday
Mr. Peter Charles Halliday
Mr. Afini Halliday.
Mr. Moses James Charles Halliday
Mr. David Otonyesiaghia Charles Halliday
Mr. Ibinabo F. Charles Halliday
Warisenibo Hayford Abalagha Halliday
Madam. Charity Tamunoolobofagha Halliday
Madam Tamunoomienyenimim Halliday
Ms. Joyce Amonia Halliday
Ms. Nyingi Halliday
Ms. Patience Pirinye Halliday
Mrs. Jocelyn C. Halliday
