Court gavel
By PATRICK ABANG, Calabar –
A High Court of Cross River State sitting in Effraya, Etung Local Government Area of the state has passed an interim injunction restraining the State government from evicting beneficiaries of 1,415 hectares of cocoa farms allotted to them by immediate past administration led by Prof, Ben Ayade.
The court presided by Justice Amajama Eneji, passed the injunction restraining State government, it’s agents or cohorts from intimidating beneficiaries of the cocoa plots from the estate.
In suit NO HE/16/2024 between Mr. Charles Mgbe, other allottees of the said 1,415 hectares of cocoa plots, and the Cross River State government, the court ordered that the allottees be allowed in their cocoa plots.
The beneficiaries had through their counsel Ntufam Mba Ukweni Esq.(SAN), approached the court seeking redress after the Gov. Bassey Otu’s state government Cocoa allocation committee led by its chairman Mr. Ebori Nku, declared their occupancy as illegal notwithstanding the fact that the allottees met all the requirements.
Justice Amajama said, “Upon this motion exparte brought before this honourable court in its competent jurisdiction, and upon hearing,Ntufam Mba Ukweni, Esq.SAN praying the court for orders.
“After careful perusal of the motion paper, exhibits and written address, it is hereby ordered that the motion be granted as prayed.
“Accordingly an order of interim injunction is hereby granted restraining defendants/respondents, their agents, servants, cohort assigns, and collaborators and their privies in whatever guise from harassing and threatening, intimidating, evicting or attempting to evict”. The order reads.
The court however adjourned to April 29,2024 for the hearing of the motion on notice. In a brief interview with Journalists shortly after the injunction was passed, counsel for the claimants MBA Ukweni SAN, insisted that justice must to prevail.
Ukweni stressed that government will be served a notice to appear in court, and if it fails, they shall be consequences.
“Those cocoa farms were duly allocated to them, paid for and government has made use of the money.
“Government have not refunded their money or relocated them to another place, and they said because it is a new government. There is no such thing known to our law or government policies.
“Government is a continuum. You cannot collect money from people, and you enter into a contract with them and you say because a new government has come, the contract is invalidated.
“Its not done that way, So the order granted by the court restraints the government from evicting them from the estate, pending when they will come and make their own representation.
“If they failed to appear before the court we will have our claims. We proceed with the matter court does not wait for anybody. All the court wants to know is there have been duly served and processes brought to their attention”. Ukweni maintained.
There court is not there to wait for them. The court is to be satisfied that the processes meant for service on them had been served on them.
Agreement prepared by the attorney general. It is not just one ministry that was involved in the transaction. The Ministry of Agriculture, Crop and Irrigation and the state internal revenue service were all involved.
Recall that there have been issues regarding allocation and ownership of Cocoa farms in Etung local government area after the inauguration of a new cocoa allocation committee by the Governor Prince Bassey Out led administration.
