HALLIDAY MAJOR CHIEFTAINCY HOUSE STATEMENT

September 27, 2025 Kristina Reports

HALLIDAY MAJOR CHIEFTAINCY HOUSE AFFIRMATION OF THE CAPPING, PRESENTATION AND INVESTITURE OF CHIEF ADIENYESIGHA JOHN PHILIP HALLIDAY, ALOKI XV, SE-ALABO AND HEAD OF THE HALLIDAY MAJOR CHIEFTAINCY HOUSE OF GRAND BONNY KINGDOM

26^th September, 2025

REFUTAL OF THE NOTICE OF DISCLAIMER BY A SECTION OF A MISGUIDED FEW

The generality of The Halliday Major Chieftaincy House of Grand Bonny refutes the disclaimer notice published on September 1, 2025 by a minutiae dissident section of the House who failed in their attempt to hijack the leadership structure of the House on the false narrative that the Halliday Major House Chieftaincy Stool belongs to their progenitor – Late Chief Charles Nwachu Halliday (one of the revered chiefs of the Halliday House in the late 19th Century), while ridiculously referring to other Bonafide members of the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House as their subjects.

The Halliday Major Chieftaincy House is a House that emanated from the founding Clan of Bonny Kingdom and evolved overtime through different traditional leadership structures in the pre-colonial times, to the colonial times and to the present days. The British Colonial traders gave the alias “Halliday” to the House after its Patriarch King Awusa, who history recorded to have ruled Bonny Kingdom at a time in the 17^th Century. At different times, the Clan was led by different leaders and later Chiefs who ruled in a Council commonly known as “Cabinet”. The Cabinet is comprised of Heads of the various Burusu which are made up of contiguous family units.

**Chief and Head, Halliday Major Chieftaincy House, Se-Alabo Adienyesigha John Philip Halliday, Aloki XV**

The signatories of that disclaimer notice are a negligible few of ill-informed descendants of Chief Charles Nwachu Halliday, who himself though not a biological descendant of King Awusa, was considered a Bonafide member of the House. Available historical records both in documents and folklore showed that there was never a time Late Chief Charles Nawchu Halliday laid claim to the ownership of the Halliday House. He peacefully administered over the House. At the time of his death in 1912 he left behind a House comprised of 14 Burusu namely:

Okpofori
Ibanibubeleleye-ofori (Ofo)
Ibezim-Ofo
Ibanimina Okoronkwo-Ofo
Kanu-Ofo
Enyinna
Igbuyebulor
Animinye-Ofori
Amaidafini
Akietuwopiribie (Anipoma)
Tuminitamunodiari Uriah
Aniparaidema (Asipi)
Ibibosofini-Sibosofini Jonah
Waribalagha

The direct descendants of Chief Charles Nwachu Halliday some of which were also made chiefs of the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House, did not in their life time make claims to the exclusive ownership of the Halliday Major House Chieftaincy Stool. The Halliday Major House Chieftaincy Stool is the common patrimony of all Bonafide members of the Halliday Major House irrespective of lineages of ancestry. It is an aberration for a gullible few who are driven by avarice and human perfidy to attempt to subvert the established history, custom and tradition of the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House succinctly documented in House literatures some of which were authored by their fathers who are direct descendants of the Chief Charles Nwachu Halliday.

Before Chief Charles Nwachu Halliday, there was a succession of a long line of leaders and chiefs of Halliday Major Chieftaincy House. Subsequently, after Chief Charles Nwachu Halliday ruled over the House, there was also a long line of succession of Chiefs which included Chief Philip Oseleakisoma Halliday who is the grandfather of the substantive Chief of the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House – Chief Adienyesigha John Philip Halliday whose installation was supported by an appreciable number of descendants of Chief Charles Nwachu Halliday. It should be particularly noted that the dissidents do not speak for the entire descendants of Chief Charles Nwachu Halliday.

The ultimate aim of the renegade authors of the inglorious disclaimer is to sectionalize the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House into small pieces for self-serving purposes. While referring to all non-descendants of Chief Charles Nwachu Halliday as their subjects, they also excluded the Jim-Halliday Sub-House, a House that emanated from the Major House and has from time immemorial participated in the traditional affairs of the Major House especially in the election, capping, presentation, investiture and also burial of the Major House Chiefs. This was so even in the case of Late Chief Michael Kalada Halliday of the Igbuyebulor Burusu who is the predecessor of the current Chief of the House. The Jim Halliday Sub-House has elders who are members of the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House in the Cabinet of the Sub-House including the Chief of the Jim Halliday Sub-House. Conjectures to severe the synergy between the two houses could only foster discord.

It was for the overwhelming need to maintain the traditional structure and preserve the history of the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House from the false narratives peddled by the renegade few who are misled by Warisenibo (Dr.) Dennis F. M. Charles Halliday and the boisterous Mr. Reginald Dawari Charles Halliday that the House filed the Suit WHC/14/2020. The Court vindicated the House by giving judgment to the House. The case having ended in favour of the House, one would expect that they will give peace a chance and reintegrate themselves into the House. However, rather than giving peace a chance, they resorted to holding the House to ramson by stalling all House activities in order to prove a point.

Having suffered four years of limbo, upon the conclusion of WHC/14/2020 while the House was preparing to reconstitute its leadership by capping a new Chief, these fellows hurriedly filed a Motion at the Court of Appeal to stop the Capping Ceremony of Chief Adienyesigha John Philip Halliday.

This Motion came up for hearing on the 13^th of November, 2024 and the Learned Justices of the Court of Appeal in their wisdom struck out this motion for being incompetent. Having failed in this respect, they resorted to all kinds of blackmail, restlessness, falsehood and lies. They tried to hoodwink the leadership of the Bonny Chiefs’ Council into sabotaging the capping ceremony, but the Bonny Chiefs’ Council saw through their gimmicks. When that failed, they tried to enlist the Police and JTF with false claims of a baseless and poorly worded security report hurriedly concocted by an interested person who was privileged to be the Bonny Local Government Chairperson. In the natural order of things, security reports or intelligence are supposed to emanate from Security Agencies to a political office holder, however in this case it was the Political office holder who produced the security report to the Security Agents and expected them to act on it. When the credibility of the Security Report was interrogated, Dame Anengi Barasua Claude-Wilcox the then Chairperson of Bonny Local Government Area could not defend her concocted Security Report. It became obvious that the entire document was a charade. The capping and installation ceremony of Chief Adienyesigha John Philip Halliday was conducted peacefully at Halliday Agbalama Community (Agbalama Community does not belong to Chief Charles Halliday) even before the renegades file an appeal against the Judgment of the High Court. Their attempt to stop the ceremony having been previously struck out by the Court of Appeal there was no legal impediment against the ceremony.

Chief Adienyesigha John Philip Halliday and the entire leadership of the Halliday Major House are a law abiding and peace driven people. There is no order of the Court of Appeal restraining the revered King of Grand Bonny Kingdom from recognizing Chief Adienyesigha John Philip Halliday as the Chief and Head of Halliday Major Chieftaincy House and admitting him into the Amanyanabo-in-Council. Investiture and admission into the Bonny Chiefs’ Council is a discretionary prerogative judiciously exercised by His Majesty, the King himself in favour of Chiefs who have been earlier elected, capped and installed by their people. It is as it pleases His Majesty, the King. His Majesty, the King not being a party to the Appeal filed by the renegades cannot be bound by whatever speculative outcome they hope to achieve albeit wishful. There is no order of the Court in Appeal No. CA/PH/502/2024 restraining Chief Adienyesigha John Philip Halliday from parading himself as Chief of the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House or restraining him from presenting himself for recognition in whatever form or administering over the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House with all the powers and privileges that inures to his office.

A Notice of Appeal or motion for injunction are not Orders of court. It is a common knowledge in legal circle that there is no circumstance under which a Notice of Appeal, Appeal or Motion for Injunction can metamorphose and operationalize as an Order of Court. An Order of Court must be specifically given by the Court and the Court of Appeal did not give any order in Appeal No. CA/PH/502/2024 which is the only appeal pending before the Court of Appeal. The renegades are only clinging to straws to hold the House to ransom. They have bluntly refused to file their Appellate Brief for lack of arguable grounds almost 9 months after they filed their appeal when the Rules of Court only give them 45 days within which to file their Appellate Brief. It is obvious that the Appeal is only meant to grandstand. The House has filed a Motion to dismiss the said Appeal.

Halliday Major Chieftaincy House like all other houses in the Kingdom is continuous, the absence of one individual or group of persons who feel too important cannot stall the progress and continuity of the House. The development of the House comes before any other individual interest. The Court in WHC/14/2020 confirmed the Chairmanship of Amaopusenibo Victor Halliday Esq., as the Chairman of the Halliday House at that time. A distinguished member of the House could be conferred with the title of Warisenibo on Honorary basis. Such conferment does not in any way make the bearer a lesser Warisenibo than the others. He enjoys the same rights and privileges in the House. The only difference is that it is not a bequeathable title.

There are over 20 Burusu Stools in Halliday Major Chieftaincy House. These Burusu Stools were created by previous chiefs. It is the prerogative of a sitting chief to create a Burusu Stool, fill an empty Burusu Stool, or de-recognize a nonfunctional Burusu stool in the overall best interest of a House. It is not within the confines of those who have abandoned the House to dictate to the Chief of Halliday Major Chieftaincy House and the entire the Halliday House what to do and what not to do. The Halliday Major Chieftaincy House as properly constituted under the chieftaincy of the Se-Alabo Adienyesigha John Philip Halliday (Aloki XV) will function for the best interest of the House in general.

The funds of the Halliday House for which the renegades wanted to hijack the leadership structure of the House are being utilized for the best interest of the House and to the benefit of every member of the House.

Irrespective of the aspersions cast on Chief Adienyesigha John Philip Halliday, he is self-sufficient, dispassionate, selfless and an all-encompassing leader. The door of reconciliation is open for all members of the Halliday Major Chieftaincy House no matter the role they have played in recent times to bury the hatchet, embrace the olive branch extended to them by the House and form one united Halliday House.

Signed: