Chijioke Agwu, Abakaliki
A Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, yesterday, fixed March 12 to rule on a matter brought before it by Okeleru, Umuezoka and Umuoghara communities in Ezza North Local Government Area against the construction of an international airport by the Ebonyi State Government.
Six persons Merssrs Nwantiti Christopher,Oken Stephen, Chukwu Celestine, Igwe Sunday, Igwe Emeka and Nwafor Toochukwu, in a suit no.FHC/CS/82/2019, sued Ebonyi government, on behalf of themselves and the three communities alleging the forceful takeover of their ancestral homes for the constructionof the airport.
They prayed the court to compel Ebonyi state government to pay them N2billion as damages for illegally and forcefully ejecting them from their ancestral homes, destroying their residential houses and economic trees, without compensations.
They also prayed the court to make an order stopping the construction of the airport.
During the adoption of the written addresses,yesterday, the defendant’s lead Counsel, Roy Nweze Umahi, urged the court to dismiss the case for lacking in merit. He further argued that the court had no jurisdiction to entertain the matter in the first instance, noting that “section 251 of the Constitution of Nigeria as amended is very explicit in such matters”.