From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
People of Rumucheta village in Mgbuesilari Community, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State have expressed worry over the alleged invasion of their landed property by the Nigerian Air Force, Port Harcourt.
The natives said this was happening despite various orders of the court stopping soldiers from the Air Force, Port Harcourt, from encroaching into the land of the Mgbuesilari people.
Saturday Sun gathered that operatives of the NAF led by the Commander, Nigeria Air Force Base, Port Harcourt, Group Captain Opeleye Azeez, invaded the land and started selling off the property belonging the community.
The community represented by Vincent Nwanwa, Solomon Amadi, Prince Amadi and Darlington Wali, had instituted a matter against the Nigerian Air Force (1st defendant), Group Captain Opeleye Azeez, Commander of the Base (2nd defendant) in suit number PHC/933/CS/2022 at a Rivers State High Court Holden in Port Harcourt.
The presiding judge, Justice Adolphus Enebeli, had, following the prayers of the defendants, gave an interlocutory injunction ordering the defendants to stop further trespass and attempt to erect any structure on the parcel of land pending the hearing and determination of the matter before it.
But, speaking to newsmen on the development, Cosmas Enweluzo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), counsel for Rumucheta Community, regretted that the Azeez and his men were still bulldozing and selling off the community land despite the order of court.
Enweluzo noted that the Air Force had fenced off their premises, adding that a creek, natural boundary, separates Rumucheta and NAF.
He wondered why the solders from the Command would jump their fence cross over the creek to sell of the community land, when they did not acquire or paid compensation to the community for any property.
He said: “They have boundary with Nigerian Air Force; the ‘Ntawogba stream is the boundary the community has with Air Force. Now, in 2013/2014, Air Force wanted to fence off their land.
“They invited neighbouring communities and paid compensation to all those they acquired their land. Having paid compensation, this particular community, Nigeria Air Force said to them (Rumucheta) ‘we did not acquire your land.”
“But the important thing is that in 2014, they fenced off their land. The community continued maintaining the natural boundary.
“Lo and behold Air Force moved from Cocaine village down to where they started developing into an Estate. Now the same Air Force that has already fenced their land, jumped the fence, crossed the creek and invaded the community, claiming that the community is part of their premises.
Enweluzo noted that when the land owners started developing it that soldiers from the Air Force Barracks invaded the property with swamp buggy.
He said the security personnel were doing this in defiance to a court order stopping them from tampering with the community land, regretting that rye Air Force were at point selling off the community land.
He said: “When the family started developing their land, the Commander Group Captain Opeleye Azeez, invaded the community and started destroying all the development in place.
“We went to court, a the court listened to the parties and granted and Interim Order, ordering Nigeria Air Force to steer clear the land.
“We got a court order, originally Ex perte. We met in court and we argued it and the court made a Consequent Order, directing Air Force to steer clear of the place pending the hearing, determination of the case.
“We were still on this, they invaded the community with swamp buggy, despite the court order and demolished the entire estate that was being done by the community.”
They are intimidating us, selling off our property – HRH Wali
However, the Paramount Ruler and Nyewe Eli, Mgbuesilaru Community, Eze Princewill Ejikeme Wali, alleged that the Air Force intimidate community around its Base, take their land and sit off to developers.
Wali claimed that his relationship with the Commander of the Base had gone sore when he (Azeez) had attempt to using him to achieve his personal purposes.
He said the Commander had on promised not to encroach into the community land, adding that the Air Chief had opted for our of court settlement.
Wali said: “The next time, he requested to have a meeting with me and my brother Eze Morgan, Eze Ohna Okporo, I told my brother that what I have gathered so far about the man that I will not attend that meeting.
“My brother went alone. He came and told me that the Air Force Commander has assured that he is going to stay away from the land. That was before we went to court.
“After we got the Injunction against the Air Force to steer clear the land, he came and sort the leaf of court to settle out of court. The court granted the leaf.
“He fixed a meeting in his office, I told my brother that I am not doing to attend a meeting at the Air Force Base that if he wants we should meet at our lawyers chamber.
“He sent his lawyer to the palace, all of us met and we discussed. The lawyer told us that he has agreed to stay away from the property since there is a court order and that it is clear that we own the land.
Thereafter, the lawyers came back that we need to meet again that we should tell them what we have for the commander. I told my brother that I will not discuss that. That we will discuss that with him at the Lawyer’s chamber.
“To our greatest surprise, he entered the land with Swamp buggy to start repartitioning the land.”
Wali vowed that the community would resist any attempt by the Base to take over the communal inheritance, calling on the Chief of Air Staff, President Muhammadu Buhari, to intervene in the matter.
He said: “Mgbuesilari are not Rumuomasi people that the Air Force forcefully took their land. They may be holding the gun, but we are holding the law. They cannot take our land.
“He should know that we are fully prepared. We will not fight them because they are holding gun, but we are coming with law.”
Wali said the community has invested over N800,000,000 to develop the property, adding that the beauty of the over 10 acres of land attract the military to storm it.
“Before they came, we have already started roads, drainages, street lights. We have spent over N800mn working their. We are arranging that Estate like GRA. We have spent so much money.
“May be he has seen the beauty of what we have done that is what attracted him. He thinks with his guns that we will give him part of the land.
“It is a very vast land. It’s not anything less than 10 acres. We have a natural boundary. They have also fenced off their land, they don’t have anything to do over here.
“There nature is to intimidate people and take their land, because they are holding gun and bomb.”
The Commander, Nigeria Air Force Base, Port Harcourt, Group Captain, Opeleye Azeez, who was contacted by a journalist, declined to comment on the allegations, but said there was a court judgement Friday, that newsmen should contact the community for details.