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The Omuogbo family of Omumeri, Imogu Omagwa, in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, has reported the looting and destruction of about 300 properties worth N8 billion amid a long-running land dispute with the Omunkwa family.
The family, however, is demanding $8 billion in compensation for the properties allegedly destroyed.
In a statement jointly signed by Comrade Austin Joe Ebele and Chief Alexander Amesi Ebele on behalf of the Omuogbo family, the family said properties belonging to its members and tenants were looted and destroyed using “forged court documents”.
The statement reads that the dispute between the two families dates back to several years ago and had been before various courts.
According to the Omuogbo family, in 1989 they won a case at the Isiokpo Customary Court in case no. ICC/25/89.
The family said the Omunkwa family appealed the ruling in the High Court in case no. IHC/HISC/4/90 but the case was dismissed, with the previous ruling upheld.
However, the statement said that in 1991 the Omunkwa family initiated another case in the High Court and obtained a ruling in their favour.
The Omuogbo family said they appealed the decision at the Port Harcourt Court of Appeal but lost, adding that they later approached the Supreme Court where the matter is still pending.
“In 1991, members of the Omunkwa family sued us again in the same High Court and won. We appealed the ruling in the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt and lost.
“We have currently appealed to the Supreme Court of Nigeria and the matter is still ongoing,” the statement said.
The family stated that a motion for stay of execution and the appellant’s brief had been filed since 2020 in case no. SC/CV/580/2020, while the defendants had also filed their reply.
He said despite the pending appeal, members of the Omunkwa family would in 2021 mobilize heavy equipment and security personnel to carry out what the Omuogbo family described as an illegal execution on the disputed land.
