By PETER OKUTU, Abakaliki

The law maker who represented Ohaukwu North constituency at the Ebonyi State House of Assembly between 2007 and 2011, Pastor Vincent Awoke, weekend raised alarm that the state government had encroached on his plots of land situated at Egu-Effium NSF Ezzamgbo in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the State.

The land is presently where the State government is setting up a pipeline production company that will aid the redistribution of water to different parts of the state if completed this year.

In a chat with Vanguard Metro, VM, the former lawmaker lamented that his lands within Abalone metropolis and Ebonyi State University permanent site, Ezzamgbo had equally suffered the same fate and appealed to the state government not to take over the one situated at Egu-Effium NSF Ezzamgbo without following due process.

According to him, most of his earnings as a former law maker were used to purchase the land.

He said: “The whole of my 12 plots are inside that development area; it has affected me seriously because part of my earnings at the House of Assembly were used to purchase that land so that at least one can in future sell or develop it, but unfortunately the government went into it.
“I have all the necessary documents and particulars for the land, including the Certificate of Occupancy, C of O, from the State Ministry of Lands.

My plan was to use it for a residential area or to build a company that will enable me carry out my printing business because it is a vast land.

“My appeal to government is that if its action is in overriding public interest, then they should acquire the land through due process. I am the rightful owner considering their approval; in as much as I will not be a clog to the development of the state, they should not take my property by force.

“When they went into the land I informed them through my lawyer about it, but all of a sudden they started digging to erect fenced walls. We went to court and got an injunction for them to stop work but in spite of that, work has still continued at the site. I know the court bailiff served the government and their representative at the court”.

Reacting to the state government’s alleged disobedience to the court injunction; Counsel to Plaintiff, Ikechukwu Agbo described the action as a deliberate disrespect of judicial authority. “The continuation of work at the site despite a valid court order stopping same is to say the least, a deliberate disrespect of judicial authority. The Attorney-General who is the Chief Law officer should know better.

“I think the Governor does not know about this case yet because I know he believes in the rule of law and will not want to dis obey court injunction but the Commissioner for Lands who is the second defendant and the Attorney General will do everything possible to prevent the Governor from knowing about it.

“Ironically, these are people who ought to provide the Governor with lawful counsel, but that’s what you get when you are surrounded by sycophants. If they continue to disobey court orders, we shall commence contempt proceedings against them. We are in court for justice to prevail and we expect to get justice from the court.”

It should be recalled that a High Court sitting in Ohaukwu judicial division, recently issued an interlocutory injunction preventing the Ebony State Government or persons acting on its behalf from entering the ongoing pipeline production site located at Egu-Effium NSF Ezzamgbo, Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the State.

The court also ordered the defendants, the Attorney General of Ebony State, Dr. Benjamin Iguana and the State Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Housing, Nwogha Friday Moses, not to fence, partition and allocate the land to any other person or group of persons or body and from doing anything or taking any step that will alter, change or affect the current status of the land pending the final determination of the substantive suit.

The presiding Judge, Justice H. A. Nudge, after hearing the submissions of counsels to the plaintiff and defendants, Ikechukwu Agbo and S. N. Ogling respectively, the court granted the application of the Plaintiff.

“An order of interlocked injunction is hereby made by this court preventing Ebony State government the second defendant, Ministry of Lands, Survey and Housing Ebony state or any other government Ministry, parastatal, agency, body or persons acting on their behalf or on their instruction from entering the land situated at Egu-Effium NSF Ezzamgbo, Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebony State.

“The land more particularly marked and delineated in survey plan number BNIL/EB180/2008 attached to the Certificate of Occupancy, registered as No. 71 at page 71 in volume 163 of the Ministry of Lands Registry, Abalone being the subject matter of this suit”.

In a reaction, the state Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Dr. Benjamin Iguana stated that he was not aware of any case in that respect and that no court injunction has been issued to him.

It could be recalled that the state Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Mr. Chile Onwe, had on August last year disclosed that the state government would build a N200 million pipe production company in the state within a period of five months and that the company would be sited at the new industrial estate in Issue in Ebony LGA of the state.