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Imo communities battle govt, church over communal land

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5 months ago

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The controversy surrounding the ownership of the former premises of Imo State Polytechnic, Orlu campus has taken a different dimension, as the people of Umuire, Eluama, Ndiowerre and Ndikabia in Orlu Autonomous Community, have dragged the Imo State Government and the Orlu Catholic Diocese to court, seeking to repossess their land.

In the case, with Suit No: HOR/48/2025, between, Chijioke Odogwu, Venatius Nnuyi and Hon Elijah P.N. Uzomba as representatives of the Communities against the State Government and the incorporated Trustees of the Catholic Diocese of Orlu, the communities, are praying that the court should determine the original owners of the land.

The plaintiffs, in the statement of claim signed by their lawyer, N.O. Chukwuezi, stated that sometime between 1945 and 1946, some Irish missionaries arrived Orlu and were looking for a place to establish a secondary school.

They stated that their fathers welcomed the Irish missionaries and their desire to establish a school and jointly donated a part of their land known as Uhu Agu to them where they built Bishop Shanahan College (BSC), Orlu.

The communities recalled that the school was then managed for the Irish missionaries by the Marist Brothers.

The Plaintiffs averred that after some time, the same Irish missionaries approached the community again, to give them the remaining Uhu Agu land opposite Bishop Shanahan College for them to use as a temporary place for training teachers.

They stated that at that period, their fathers refused to make an outright donation of the land to the missionaries but merely granted them the right to stay on the land pending when they will conclude their assignment and leave.

Based on that premise, the Plaintiffs showed the missionaries a little portion of their jointly owned Uhu Agu land opposite Bishop Shanahan College, where the missionaries raised few temporary structure for Teacher-Training College.

The lawyer further revealed that another portion was given to the church for Pastoral Centre.

The Plaintiffs further averred that one of the conditions for showing the Irish missionaries the land was that the missionaries would be paying rent to them on a yearly basis through their Traditional Rulers, an agreement the plaintiffs claimed had been carried out religiously by the missionaries until the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War in 1967 which disrupted the school’s academic calendar.

“When the War ended in 1970, the College’s premises were taken over by the 24 Battalion of the Nigerian Army.

“The Army continued to occupy the land until 1973 when the then Government of East Central State took over all schools owned by the Government ,including BSTC,” the plaintiffs stated.

They recalled that the government continued to run and manage the school before the then Government of Imo State converted the site to a campus of Alvan Ikoku College of Education, following the exit of the former occupants.

The communities’ representatives further stated that In the process, the government expanded the school and took over other adjoining parcels of the land belonging to them and built a block wall right round it.

“In 1982, the then Government of Imo State returned the campus of Alvan Ikoku College of Education to Owerri and established Technical Skills Acquisition Centre (TESAC) thereon which was renamed Technical Skills Acquisition Institute (TESAI) under the regime of Governor Ikedi Ohakim.

“During the regime of Governor Rochas Okorocha, he made the place a campus of Imo State Polytechnic which the present Government has moved to Omuma in Oru East Local Government Area.

“Following this move, the land became vacant for us the original owners to take back, but surprisingly, the State Government handed the land to the church without our knowledge,” they claimed.

They argued that since the State Government and the former occupant of the land were no longer in need of the land in question, that they lacked the powers to hand the land to a third party.

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‘I entrusted over $9billion (N13.9 trillion) to Dauda Lawal Dare, the current governor of Zamfara State’: Ex-Petroleum Minister Diezani

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22 hours ago

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September 18, 2025

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ByIbrahim Bamidele
•
Sep 17, 2025, 7:20 PM WAT

Former Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, who served under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and later fled to the United Kingdom over fears of investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has alleged that she entrusted $9 billion (approximately ₦13.9 trillion) to Dauda Lawal Dare, the current Governor of Zamfara State.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed that former Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, who is reportedly battling stage two cancer, is pleading with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to permit her return to Nigeria to confess her alleged financial misconduct while in office.

Speaking to journalists in London after a medical appointment, Mrs. Diezani admitted she is now prepared to disclose details about the billions of dollars she is accused of misappropriating during her tenure as Minister of Petroleum.

‘’I am a born again Christian and currently suffering from second stage cancer, which my United Kingdom’s physician adviseded me to continue taking medication for the rest of my life. Yes, no human is perfect, but some time, God Almighty allows some of such to happen

I have been accused of misappropriation when I was the petroleum minister, which is true! but I would like President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Nigerians to forgive me to come back home and offer my contribution because life is temporal”, a statement from EFCC says Diezani said in tears

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The statement from EFCC further reads;

“My husband and my entire family members including My Nigeria lawyer based in the United Kingdom knew my relationship with Dauda Lawal Dare, the current Zamfara State governor whow I entrusted over 9 billion dollars for safe keeping while he was the Executive Director of the First Bank Nigeria PLC .

“Sadly, it has reached a point where Mr. Dauda Lawal no longer answers my calls and has even collaborated with the UK police to place me under surveillance, perhaps with the intention of claiming the money I entrusted to him after my death,” she said.

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Court restrains NUPENG from going on strike, disrupting Dangote refinery’s operations

Published

23 hours ago

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September 18, 2025

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The National Industrial Court has granted an interim injunction restraining the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) from blocking Nigerian roads, or frustrating and shutting down the operations of Dangote refinery, MRS Oil Nigeria Limited, and MRS Oil and Gas Company Limited.

The court also restrained NUPENG and other drivers’ associations from embarking on an industrial action or compelling other truck drivers to join in its industrial action.

Emmanuel Subilim, the presiding judge, delivered the ruling on Wednesday following an ex parte motion filed by George Ibrahim, the refinery’s lawyer.

Granting the ex parte, the judge said ‘irreparable damage” may be caused to Dangote refinery if the necessary orders were not granted.

Ibrahim approached the court with an ex parte motion filed alongside the originating processes and a motion on notice, dated and filed September 15.

The lawyer prayed the court to direct NUPENG and its members to continue petroleum trucking services to the refinery, MRS, and the Nigerian public pending the determination of the motion on notice.

In an affidavit deposed by Ahmed Hashem, the group’s general manager, government and strategic relations of the refinery, the applicants provided an undertaking of damages to the organisation if the court ultimately rules against the restraining request.

After hearing Ibrahim, the judge held that “this court, having satisfied itself that there is a serious issue to be tried, that the balance of convenience tilts in favour of the Applicants (Dangote Refinery), that irreparable damage may be occasioned if the necessary orders are not granted, and that the Applicants have given an undertaking as to damages”.

He ruled that NUPENG ought to be restrained, granting interim injunction on the refinery’s request.

‘RESTRAINING ORDER TO LAST FOR SEVEN DAYS’

The judge noted that the restraining orders would remain in effect for seven days.

He further directed the applicants to serve the respondents with the motion on notice and all accompanying processes in the suit within seven days from the date of the order.

The judge also noted that the court’s authority to sit during the ongoing vacation would expire on September 23.

Consequently, he ordered that the case file be forwarded to the president of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria for reassignment to another judge, who will hear and determine the motion on notice as well as the substantive case on its merits. 

On September 11, NUPENG placed its members on red alert for the resumption of its nationwide industrial action — two days after it suspended its strike action, in protest against Dangote refinery’s “anti-union practices”.

The union said it made the decision after Sayyu Dantata, the owner of Mrs Oil, allegedly instructed his truck drivers, who had been NUPENG-Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) members for several years, to remove union stickers from their trucks.

NUPENG said the action led to an altercation between the truck drivers and its officials.

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Edo Govt rescues citizen poisoned in Burkina Faso

Published

1 day ago

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September 18, 2025

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The Edo State Government has successfully repatriated an indigene, Godstime Uwoghiren, who has been battling life-threatening health complications after allegedly being poisoned in Burkina Faso.

Uwoghiren, who was said to have been poisoned out of jealousy for purchasing a motorcycle, had been struggling with paralysis and deteriorating health for over three years before Governor Monday Okpebholo intervened to secure his return.

According to the Director-General of the Edo State Migration Agency, Lucky Agazumah, the matter was first brought to the agency’s attention four months ago, prompting the governor to act swiftly in collaboration with the Nigerian Embassy.

Uwoghiren arrived at Benin Airport around 1 pm on Wednesday aboard a flight from Burkina Faso. He was received by Agazumah and officials of the agency before being rushed by ambulance to the Edo Specialist Hospital, Benin City, for emergency medical attention.

Agazumah revealed that the rescue mission faced initial resistance from some family members but emphasised that the state government remained committed to saving his life.

“If not for Governor Okpebholo’s quick intervention, this young man would have died quietly in a foreign land. He was poisoned out of sheer envy because he bought a motorcycle. We caution Edo youths not to be deceived by the illusion of greener pastures abroad, as many Nigerians are being lured into hardship and modern slavery,” Agazumah said.

Uwoghiren’s mother, Mrs Susan Uwoghiren, expressed gratitude to the state government for stepping in to save her son. She disclosed that before travelling to Burkina Faso, Godstime had trained as an automobile mechanic in Nigeria.

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