COURT RESTRAINS FURTHER DEVELOPMENT ON LAND IN A #500 MILLION LAND SUIT IN ASABA

The Delta State High Court sitting in Asaba, presided over by Hon. Justice CD Diai, has restrained Mrs. Calista Ogechukwu Eziokwu, Patrick Eziokwu, Charles Ofoezie, Austine Ekeh, and Onyebuchi Nwagwu from further development on the property under contest in a #500 million suit filed by Solomon Atube, a Delta State-based legal practitioner.

In the suit, Dr. AA Orunkoya, representing the claimant, urged the court to restrain the defendants from further development on the land known as Plot 71, Block VIII, Phase V, Core Area, Asaba, registered as DTSR/18388 at the Land Registry, Asaba, arguing that their actions could destroy the res, which is the subject matter before the court.

After hearing the application of Dr. AA Orunkoya, Esq, the court ordered the parties to maintain the status quo and refrain from any action pending with respect to the subject matter.

Delta State has recently been in the spotlight over numerous land issues, as the activities of land grabbers continue to rise. The state government has failed to adequately address issues relating to forgery of Certificates of Occupancy, often facilitated by some unscrupulous officials within the Ministry of Lands and Survey. Additionally, the government has neglected to implement digital codes and measures to prevent the issuance of fake certificates.

In this case, it was alleged that the defendants attempted to register a mortgage over the land using particulars of a deceased individual, in an attempt to claim the land under the pretense that the deceased had forfeited it as a result of the mortgage. Officials from the Delta State Ministry of Lands discovered the irregularity and raised the alarm, alerting the claimant.