Supreme Court slates May 6 to deliver judgment in Rivers, Imo, case over oil wells

The Supreme Court, on Monday, slated May 6, 2022, to deliver judgment in a case brought before it by Rivers and the Imo States over the ownership of 17 oil wells in their territories.

Justice Olukayode Ariwoola who led the panel of justices of the apex court fixed the date after the adoption of final written addresses by lawyers in the matter.

Counsel to Rivers State, Joseph Daudu (SAN), while adopting his final addresses asked the apex court to give judgment in favour of Rivers State on the ground that historical evidence, right from 1927 till date clearly indicated that the oil wells belong to the state.

Daudu drew the attention of the Supreme Court to the boundary adjustment paper of 1976 where Ndoni and Egbema were confirmed to belong to Rivers State.

He disagreed with the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) in his claim that adjudication of the suit on the oil wells ought not to have originated from the Supreme Court but a Federal High Court because oral evidence ought to be taken from the people in the area.

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Daudu said that the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction and can conveniently use all available sufficient historical documents right from the colonial era for it to determine the real owners of the oil wells.

In his own arguments, counsel to Imo State, Chief Olusola Oke (SAN), asked the apex court to dismiss the suit on the grounds that it ought to have originated from the Federal High Court.

Oke claimed that because of the nature of the matter, oral evidence ought to be called from the people of the area to confirm where they actually belong.

He contended that Rivers ought not to have started the suit from the Supreme Court and therefore prayed the court to dismiss the suit.

In the same vein, counsel to the AGF, Dr Remi Peter Olatubora (SAN), aligned himself with the position of Imo State, to the effect that proper procedure for such a suit was not adopted by Rivers State.

He insisted that witnesses, including officials of the National Boundary Commission (NBC), Surveyor-General of the Federation (SGF) and indigenes of the disputed areas ought to be heard for the court to make appreciable and acceptable findings.

Although Olatubora claimed that the AGF was neutral in the disputed oil wells ownership, he however said that scientific evidence must be considered along with an open court hearing for the Supreme Court to make good findings.

Justice Ariwoola thereafter announced May 6, for judgment in the matter.