From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
The Leo9 construction company has been dragged before an Owerri high court over trespass and malicious damage to private land.
The suit, NWANGUMA ROLLAND Vs LEO 9 CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, is presented before Honourable Justice Azuka of Court 16.
The plaintiff, Mr Nwanguma Rolland, a Civil Engineer, of Geoffrey Ejiaku Street in Umuorii Uruatta in Owerri North Council, is asking the court to compel the company to pay him compensation over the damage done to his land, where the company had excavated laterite thus rendering his land useless.
He narrated to Daily Sun that the Lebanese-owned Leo9 construction company handling the reconstruction of Toronto/MCC Urrata road had surreptitiously purchased a parcel of land in the built-up neighbourhood of Geoffrey Ejiaku Street CC in Umuorii Uruatta in Owerri North council which is close to his own private land.
He disclosed that the Construction company in May of this year had sent excavators to the parcel of land to his for laterite and that rather than confine themselves to their parcel of land encroached on his land as the company’s agents had dug a ditch measuring over 58 feet in depth and about 10 Metres in length.
He said: “I decided to take the Lebanese-owned company to court which was awarded the contract to reconstruct the MCC/ Uratta Road, for trespassing on land in May of this year while I was in Lagos and I came back I visited the company and the Project Manager a Lebanese requested them to come and see the damage their agents have done to my land. All entreaties to the company to refill the burrow pit as they had earlier promised fell on deaf ears as the company insisted that they are contractors by the state government. And they also refused to compensate me for destroying my land as it has been rendered useless. I want the court to decide if the company is above the law”.