Mosque saga goes to
Appeal Court
Ibrahim Bakare
The
Registered Trustees of Trans-Amadi Mosque have filed an appeal at the Court of
Appeal, challenging the judgment of
Justice G.O. Omereji which conferred the ownership of the disputed land at
Rainbow town on the Rivers State Government on the basis of title
documents that date back to old Eastern
Region.
The Rivers
State High Court declared that the land in question belongs to the Rivers State
Government. The Court also declared that the Registered Trustees of Trans-Amadi
Mosque had no approval to construct any structure on the disputed land.
In Suit Number
CA/PH/189/2019, the Registered of Trans-Amadi Mosque said that Justice G.O.
Omereji erred while delivering judgment on Suit Number PHC/986/2012, when he
declared that the Rivers State Government’s title was superior to the ownership
claim of Chief Amadi who sold the land to them.
The Registered
Trustees of Trans-Amadi Mosque formulated 10 Grounds of Appeal, urging the
Appeal Court to set aside the judgment of the High Court of Rivers State dated
the 27th day of November, 2018 in Suit No. PHC/986/2012 Registered Trustees of
Trans-Amadi Central Mosque, Port Harcourt v. The Commissioner, Ministry of
Urban Development & Physical Planning, Rivers State & 2 Others.
They claimed
that the learned trial judge erred in law by holding that the effect of Exhibit
K, the certificate of title, in the instant case, is that the Rivers State
Government, has valid title to the land in dispute.
In a notice
of appeal, they said: “TAKE NOTICE that the Appellants being dissatisfied
with the decision of the High Court of Rivers State contained in the judgment
of Honourable Justice G. O. Omereji dated the 27th day of November, 2018 doth
hereby appeal to the Court of Appeal upon the grounds set out in paragraph 3
and will at the hearing of the appeal seek the relief set out in paragraph 4
“AND
the appellants further state that the name and address of the persons directly
affected by the appeal are those set out in paragraph 5”.
The Appellants also claimed that the learned trail judge erred in law in failing to consider and determine the issue raised by the appellants that the respondents are stopped from claiming title to the land in dispute in this suit.
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It will be
recalled that Rivers State High Court declared that the disputed land at
Rainbow Town in Port Harcourt which is currently under the control of the
Rivers State Ministry of Urban Development Board belongs to the Rivers State
Government.
The
Registered Trustees of Trans-Amadi Mosque, Port Harcourt had approached the
Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt in February 2012, after the then Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi
Administration through the Rivers State Ministry of Urban Development and
Physical Planning stopped them from erecting
a structure on the disputed Government land without approval.
In that
instance, the Registered Trustees of Trans-Amadi Mosque, Port Harcourt claimed that
the Amaechi administration through its agents and servants forcibly entered the
land in dispute, fenced it up with wired fence and locked it up. The several
claims of the claimants were marked Exhibits A to H1 respectively.
Ruling in
Suit Number PHC/986/2012 between Registered Trustees of Trans-Amadi Mosque,
Port Harcourt (Claimant) and the Commissioner, Ministry of Urban Development
and Physical Planning, Rivers State, the Governor of Rivers State and the
Attorney General of Rivers State (Defendants), Justice G.O. Omereji on Tuesday,
27th November, 2018 said:
“It is
very clear that from the above authorities, the effect of Exhibit K, the
Certificate of Title in the instant case, the defendants, especially the 2nd
and 3rd defendants have valid title to the land in dispute because the
acquisition of the land as in Exhibit K by the Government extinguishes every
prior existing title over the said land”.
Justice
Omereji stated that it was clear that the claimant’s plan AI/RV/2009/013 was
charged on both the Ortho-Photo map and Greater Port Harcourt Acquisition of 1959
and that the said land is within the Greater Port Harcourt.
The Court
declared that Exhibits J1 and J2 clearly show that the claimant purchased a
land from Dr E.E. Amadi, which was already owned by the State Government
following its acquisition by the Eastern Nigerian Government in 1959.