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From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Further hearing on the civil suit brought against Dozzy Oil and Gas Limited and SunGreen Oil and Gas Limited (a sister company to Dozzy Oil and Gas Limited) by Cletus Ibeto, continued at the Rivers State High Court, Port Harcourt, presided by Justice Adolphus Enebeli.
During cross examination by the defence counsel, Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, the former Registrar of Titles, Ministry of Lands and Survey, Rivers State, Mr. Henry Uzor, confirmed that he wrote series of letters to Ibeto, including the one that ordered him to return his Certified True Copy of the documents that were certified for him in “error”, and he reiterated that Sungreen Oil and Gas Limited, Dozzy Oil (a sister company), is the rightful owner of the lands as contained in the State Lands records
Uzor further testified that it was the duty of Deputy Registrar of Deeds (DRD) to examine the location of the subject matter of the deed and reflect on all the information contained therein.
He told the court that a Certified True Copy of a document is the same as Original Copy, and the Registry Department in the Ministry of Lands cannot register a document with conflicting information and does not amend documents.
The witness debunked the allegation put to him by the claimant’s lawyer, that he was one of the officials of the Ministry of Lands, whom his client (Ibeto) claimed to have colluded with the defendant.
During the cross-examination of Ibeto by the defence counsel, Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, the claimant admitted to have received the letters from the state government, but ignored the government’s order.
Meanwhile, further witness hearing was stalled following failure of the second defence witness from the Ministry of Lands and Survey to be in court with relevant files.
The case was adjourned till March 7, 2023, for continuation of examination and cross-examination.
