From Tony John, Port Harcourt
A High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has issued an order restraining Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) from interfering with Rivers State Government title, right and interest over fixed landed assets comprised in Kidney Island Base, Port Harcourt, and interests in lands comprised in OML 11.
The court, presided over by Adolphus Enebeli, asserted that the Rivers State government’s purchase of Kidney Island and OML 11, through public auction ordered by the court pursuant to a court judgement on August 14, 2019, was absolute, irreversible and indivisible.
Enebeli issued the order, yesterday, while delivering judgement in suit No. PHC/29/CS/2021 filed by SPDC, challenging the sealing off of Kidney Island once used as the company’s operational base by the Rivers State government.
The defendants in the suit were Rivers State government, attorney general of the state, deputy sheriff of High Court of the state and the state High Court registrar.
Citing Section 47 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act, the judge said at any time within 21 days from the date of the sale of any immovable property, application may be made to the court to set aside the sale on the ground of any material irregularity in the conduct of the sale.
Enebeli ruled that if SPDC had noticed irregularities in the court judgement authorising the sale of its asserts, it was statutorily bound to challenge it within 21 days of the sale, but it did not.
The judge maintained that the law is explicit that once assets are sold through public auction ordered by the court pursuant to a court judgement, and the sale is not challenged within 21 days, the buyer’s claim to the property is absolute, irreversible and indivisible.
To buttress this, Enebeli cited Section 48 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act, which states that if no such application as is mentioned in Section 47 of the Act is made, the sale shall be deemed absolute.
He ruled that the Rivers State government, having purchased the assets and duly issued certificate of title without any contestation from SPDC within the stipulated 21 days, has every legal right to protect its property.
Enebeli said though SPDC had claimed it had filed an appeal at the appellate court, the earlier court judgement authorising the sale of the company’s assets, which is yet to be set aside by any competent court, still subsists.
He observed that the suit brought by SPDC was an indirect attempt to catch a horse that had bolted off from its stable 512 days earlier.
Enebeli noted that SPDC, in the suit brought before the court, did not also seek an order setting aside the auction of the assets in question.
The judge, therefore, issued an order restraining SPDC from continuing to interfere with the Rivers State government title, right and interest over fixed landed assets comprised in Kidney Island Base, Port Harcourt, and interests in lands comprised in OML 11.
Speaking with newsmen outside the court, a Rivers State government lawyer, Chukwuemeka Eke, expressed delight over the judgement.
Eke further added if there were irregularities at all in the sale, the law provides that the SPDC should have raised that within 21 days of that sale. However, Shell did not do so.
The Supreme Court had, on November 2020, reaffirmed Rivers State government acquisition of SPDC interest in OML 11 and Kidney Island, when it dismissed the SPDC suit which sought to set aside the judgement made against it in 2019 in favour of Ejama-Ebubu community.