Recently, Shalom Jare Ventures Limited wrote petitions to the Edo State Government, Inspector-General of Police in Abuja and Commissioner of Police in Edo over alleged land grabbing, malicious damage and robbery by suspected banditry squad of Ovbokhan Igbinovia, the Ohen of Okhuoromi Village, demanding for investigation and prosecution of the alleged culprits. The petitions which dated 17th August, 2021; May 27th, 2021 and May 17th, 2021 and signed by Efosa Aguebor (Operation Manager, Shalom Jare) and O.A Otamere Esq, Counsel to the claimants respectively, were titled “Report of Land grabbing, malicious damage and robbery by banditry squad of Ovbokhan Igbinovia, the Ohen of Okhuoromi: Request for investigation and prosecution of culprits; Re: Bandits in our clients farmland in Edo State: Request for urgent arrest of leaders of the group and Complaints of threat of violence, malicious damage to property, assault/harassment of farmers and malicious damage to palm crops: Request to invite culprits for interrogation and removal of caravan placed on the frontage of the plot of Shalom Jare Ventures Ltd” The company claimed that the alleged actions of Okhuoromi has violated the Enrolment Of Order Motion Exparte in Suit No. B/407/18, dated 17th, May, 2021 and issued by the presiding judge, Justice M.O. Ighodalo (now deceased), hence, the recent protest by the company.
But in a swift reaction, a Legal luminary clears air on the controversies surrounding the recent allegations of land grabbing levelled against the Ohen Ovbokhan Igbinovia of Okhuoromi Village in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. In this encounter with Idahosa Moses and Oise Monday, Prince Peter Uwadiae, Esq, Counsel to Ohen Ovbokhan and Okhuoromi, submits from the points of law, why those alleging should not be taken seriously.
Excerpt:
Indeed, the law that creates a court also encapsulates or embedded that same court with the authority to punish anybody that infrared on the authority and jurisdiction of the court. What I mean by this is that, assuming without considering that there is a violation of the court order, the court has the mechanism to discipline anybody that has contempted it.This particular issue is very disturbing that Shalom Jare Ventures Limited would hold anybody from Okhuoromi responsible or said to had been in breached of any order of court. Let me just quickly say this, the hostility between Okhuoromi and Shalom Jare started in 2018. Prior to 2018, in 2017 particularly on the 4th of January, 2017. After His Royal Majesty, the Oba of Benin had adjudicated over the matter between Okhuoromi, Egbirhe and Akuse, he delegated his functionaries to go and demarcate the boundary between Okhuoromi and Aruogba on one part, and Okhuoromi and Egbirhe on the other part.
The day the representatives of His Royal Majesty went to carry out that boundary demarcations, person’s from Okhuoromi, Egbirhe and Aruogba were there present. It was the Oba’s representatives that created the boundaries between Aruogba and Okhuoromi and Okhuoromi and Egbirhe. From that 4th of January, 2017, the portion of the land has been adjudged to be that of Okhuoromi and Okhuoromi took possession of that part of Land from that particular day. But, for the avoidance of doubt, there was no work of Shalom Jare going-on on this part of the land and not even a single Palm tree was being harvested by them. It was a bush and palm trees that were unproduced were in the area.
From the day Okhuoromi took over the portion of the land, there was no problem until sometime in 2018 , after a year and six months that Shalom Jare went to file action in court and it is a law that when a particular claimant approach a court and file for an interim injunction, the court has not had the opportunity of hearing the other party, the court may grant an interim injunction. But in our law too, that interim injunction is to last only for 14 days. When they got the interim injunction in 2018, we have not been served with any court process. Eventually, we were served with the processes filed in court and we filed our defense. When we filed our defense, the Judge that was handling the issue that time, Late Justice Ighodalo, said that from the processes filed by the defendants, there was no need to continue with interlocutories. The court did not considered their interlocutory injunction. By the application of the law, from that moment, the interim injunction which they are parading up till today ceases to exist; ( It dies a natural death).
Assuming without considering that it did no die 14 days after it grant, it dies when the court refused to grant the interlocutory injunction. From that moment, there was no inhibition of any kind because, before the hostilities even started, Okhuoromi were already in possession of the land. By the operation of the law, even if there is an interim injunction or interlocutory injunction and the status quo ante belon is to be maintained. What is the status quo ante belon as at the time hostility started? It shows or suffice to say that the status quo ante belon before hostility started is what was in existence before the case was filed in court. As at 2018 when Shalom Jare filed their action in court, this portion of land was already being in possession of Okhuoromi for over a year and six months following the demarcation done by HRM
Again, the law is also very clear that when a judge that granted an injunction or any order ceases to be the judge presiding over that matter, every order granted by him ceases to exist because the case is starting De Novo. There are Appeal and Supreme Courts authorities on it. Ngige Vs Obi is one of the cases, that once there is a change of a judge hearing a matter and the case starts De Novo and being held by another judge, every order granted by the previous judge ceases to exist. So, what Shalom Jare is still parading as an order has ceased to exist with the demise of the judge that granted it. Assuming it did not ceases to exist after 14 days, there is no interlocutory order granted by the court.
Now as we stand, this case is pending in court and between the time that Justce Ighodalo died and the case was re-assigned to another judge, there was nothing whatsoever stopping Okhuoromi from taken over possession of what has been rightly adjudged to be their own. However, let me quickly say this, the case is pending in court, it has not been adjudged to be property of Shalom Jare by any court of competent jurisdiction. They filed the matter in court and they are aware that the matter that is still pending in court has been fixed for October this year for hearing.
Besides that, there is a judgement from a court of competent jurisdiction that was delivered by the former Chief Judge of Edo State, Honourable Justice Esther Edigin rtd. And what the former CJ said in that judgement is that the Judgement of HRM which was the traditional Arbitration that looks into such cases prevails and still prevail up till now. If the judgment of the Oba that says a particular piece of land is that of Okhuoromi, that same judgement has been reaffirmed by a court of competent jurisdiction, who is now in contempt? Is it Shalom Jare or Okhuoromi? I will venture to say that Shalom Jare does not have any claim to that land.
Funny enough, while the case that led to the judgment of rtd Justice Edigin was pending , their own case was also pending. And I told the court then that this their claimed land is a fraction, an integral part of the case pending before the then CJ. The court advised Shalom Jare that look, there is a case pending that is more elaborate, embracing this particular land in another court. Why don’t you (Shalom Jare) withdraw yours and join this particular case that is pending in court 1 then. Other persons that have similar cases withdrew their own. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria , Dan Okoh, SAN, was doing a case for Eboigbe Ages Water in another court and when he got to know that this particular court that is handling this particular case was all embracing and pending before Court 1, he withdrew his case in court 10 and filed a joinder and joined the case that was more embracing. And the case was holistically heard. But that advise was not taken by Shalom Jare.
Now, there is a judgement that deals with the entire land including this their land in dispute then. Again, assuming without preempting the judgment because it subjundice of the court in charge of this matter, I want to also say this, they have been written petitions to the police and we have gone to the police and let the police know that once a case is pending in the court, it is subjundice and the police do not have the right to investigate a case that a court of competent jurisdiction is handling. Assuming without considering that there was an order of court that has not been obeyed, is it not the same court that granted the order that should punish for it? Does the police have the right to now go and be investigating a case that the Court is handling? That is the big question!
I do not expect a lawyer worth it salt to tell the police to come and intervene in a matter that is subjundice. It is an aberration, unheard of, unethical and very shameful for that to happen. I watch their protest on Television, and the persons who were even demonstrating are not Shalom Jare Ventures, but representatives of Shalom Jare. And what Shalom Jare is even saying you is that, I mean by their pleading they are not even in occupation of the land in dispute. They rented the place out to somebody and yet you filed an action as a company. Now the area they said their business is, from a reliable source, they have sold a lager potion of it allegedly to a company who have even gone into demolishing the place. I will want journalists to visit the area in question wether there is any human activities on the entire land including the one they bought from Aruogba.
So, it is very disturbing, most embarrassing, illegal and shameful on the part of these persons who do not want to respect the law. They want to take the law unto them and be the judge in their own case. A case that is pending in court, you claim that the land is your own whereas you have filed an action in court for the court to determine the ownership. The court has not pronounced on it. Whereas there is also subsisting judgment that encompassed the entire land. The people that have the judgment are not shouting, they are still saying okay we will follow you to the end of the case you have filed in court. I will say that these people should know what to do and do it in a civilised way. We are not in a lawless society and they can not resort to self help when they have already submitted to the jurisdiction of a court. That is my position.
