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A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has awarded N1.1bn against the Rivers State Government for the unlawful demolition of properties and forceful takeover of land belonging to residents of the Mile One and Two waterfronts in the Port Harcourt City Local Government Area.
The land acquisition and property demlition happened under the Nyesom Wike administration.
The affected residents had filed a suit in 2022, accusing the state government of violating their fundamental human rights.
The affected communities, including Egede, Iruala, Elechi Phase One, Elechi Beach Waterfront, Nanka, Ogwu Waterfront, Okwele, and Soku Waterfront, had their properties demolished by the immediate past administration, and their land was forcefully taken.
They approached the court, seeking justice for the violations they suffered.
Delivering the judgment on Wednesday, Justice Sika Aprioku ruled that the applicants had proven that their rights were violated, as the Rivers State Government failed to notify them before demolishing their properties.
Justice Aprioku also stated that the government could not prove that it had purchased the land from the residents, who are the rightful owners.
The court was particularly critical of the government’s actions, noting that the state did not provide shelter or compensation to the displaced residents.
Instead, the government used police force to demolish the homes, evict the residents, and take over the land under the guise of urban renewal and public development.
In his ruling, Justice Aprioku ordered the Rivers State Government to pay N900m as compensation for the violation of the applicants’ rights and an additional N200m fine.
Counsel for the applicants and a member of the Justice and Empowerment Initiative, Tonye Igeri, expressed satisfaction with the judgment outside the courtroom.
He emphasised that the ruling would go a long way in restoring hope for the victims, many of whom were left homeless by the government’s actions.
Igeri explained the background of the case, saying, “The case started in 2022 as a result of the forced eviction and demolition of property occupied by the applicants at the Diobu Waterfront.”
He recounted that the case had faced several challenges, including attempts by some Port Harcourt chiefs to join the case, which the court ultimately struck out.
“All these while we’ve been coming to court, we had issues where some parts of Port Harcourt township chiefs wanted to join the case, but the court saw reason with us and struck out those parties,” Igeri said.
He added, “To God be the glory, judgment has been delivered in favor of the applicants.”
Igeri noted the next step would be to ensure that the awarded sum is paid to the applicants.
“The next thing is for us to see how we can get the sum that was awarded so that the applicants will be happy, because most of them have died and some have nothing left with them,” he said. “This will go a long way to encourage and assuage them.”
In his final remarks, Igeri offered advice to the government, calling for more consideration and transparency in future actions.
“My advice to the government is, just like the court said, when carrying out exercises of this function, we need to identify the persons that have buildings in this area, see how to accommodate them or provide alternative shelter for them,” he stated. “Those who will not be comfortable with that arrangement should be adequately compensated, as the court has said.”
