https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/12/federal-state-high-courts-clash-over-enugu-bus-terminal-project/#google_vignette

Two courts of cognate jurisdiction, the Federal High Court Enugu and Enugu State High court, have respectively issued varring orders in the legal battle over Governor Peter Mbah’s proposal to establish a central bus terminal opposite Holy Ghost Cathedral, Ogui Enugu.


The State government had in statement notified of it’s proposal to build a bus terminal in the Enugu City Centre, stating that the ‘slum’ occupiers in proposed site would give way for the state government’s mega city initiative.




The Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, ECTDA, subsequently issued the tenants with eviction notice and marked the residential and office properties contained in the about eight hectares of land 14 days demolition notice.

In a suit filed at the federal high court Enugu, 11 applicants for and on behalf of the tenants, against the Governor of Enugu state, it’s agents, the Attorney General of the Federation and the Nigeria Railway Corporation, the tenants contended that they were bonafide tenants of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, owners of the landed property, which the state government has no overriding jurisdiction against section 5 (3) (b) of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and section 1 and 49 of Land Use Act, Cap L 15, laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, adding that the state government has no the authority to evict them while their lessees with the Federal government agency still subsist.

The tenants include banks, schools, transporters, individuals and other chains of business concerns.

The tenants further contend that the Enugu state government’s bus terminal and shopping mall proposal on the property was “not altruistic but for the mundane purpose of replacing us with cronies and agents of 1st – 4th defendants.”

The tenants moved for an interim order of injunction restraining the Governor of Enugu state, the state Attorney General, the state Commissioner for Transport and the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (1st – 4th defendants) from demolition of their properties.

In an order for a motion ex-parte issued by the federal high court on November 23 2023, the presiding Judge, Justice M.G Umar ordered the defendants/respondents (Enugu state government and it’s agents) to “come and show cause within one week from today why this ex-parte application and restraining order sought by the plaintiffs/Applicants shall not be granted.”

But the State government on November 20 2023 went a filed a suit at the Enugu State High court seeking for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the tenants from further carring on with their businesses, alleging that the tenants were “causing environmental pollution or degradation,” and to suspend their activities.


The state government also sought for an order of the court sealing, suspending, closing down premises in the disputed portion of land.

Granting prayers sought by the state government in it’s motion ex-parte, the state High Court presided over by Justice C.O. Ajah, Ph.D on the 23 of November 2023, restrained the tenants from further activities in the premises for “causing environmental pollution or degradation, create or cause to be created obstruction… that the respective activities of the respondents are hereby suspended by sealing and closing down the premises of the respondents…”

When the substantive matter resumed for hearing, on Friday, one of the counsel to the defendants named Unknown person in the suit, Bona Ononugbo, announced interest in the matter and said that they got information of the court sitting late Thursday as they were not served the said motion.

He also informed the court that they discovered that the Attorney General of the State who brought the matter, did not serve the parties but collected the entire process with the intention to make the court believe they have been served on the parties.

Ononugbo said, “We are surprised at the strange act and that is why we are here to inform the court because the intention is to keep the parties away and shutting them out.”


Counsel to the third Respondent, C. Emeka told the Court that his client was only served on Thursday and he needed time as required by law to respond and asked for an adjournment to enable him do so.

Responding, counsel to State government, W.I. Ezenwugo, said that the position of the third respondent was in line with the provisions of the law, hence he should be giving the time to respond.

“He is entitle to time for response. For the person unknown, we do not have his address, his identity was not known to us at the time of filing and service,” Ezenwugo said.

Justice Ajah after listening to the parties ruled that “based on the observations by the parties, the matter is adjourned to December 18, for hearing of the Motion on Notice.”

Speaking to newsmen shortly after the court session, counsel to the tenants, Bona Ononugbo said: “there was no where in the process filed, where the state government mentioned that the land which the defendants occupy belong to the federal government. In the said process filed, the state government alleged environmental pollution and degradation against the occupants of the Railway properties, the government failed to mention the proposed Bus Terminal project.

“It is now obvious that the government of Enugu state has sister motives and lacks honesty and transparency. The purported Bus Terminal project is clearly a land grabbing scheme of Governor Peter Mbah. This project is masqueraded as a public interest project when in reality it is Governor Peter Mbah and his cronies selfish project.

“Again, under section 17 of the Nigeria Railway Act, it says that no act or law should be made to regulate or control over Railway land. So what the Governor is doing is in contravention to the act and so the court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the matter.”

Chairman of the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, ECTDA, Hon. Uche Anya however insisted that the project the state government what’s to execute in the property is Bus Terminal and asked the public to ignore any other story being bandied about.

State government shouldn't have marked people's properties for demolition without paying the appropriate compensation to the owners.

State government is giving federal establishment a quit notice. Leave Holy Ghost Park. What that roundabout needs is a flyover.

Invest that money in power generation using clean coal, transmission and distribution. No South East governor is building power station, despite the fact that the industry has been deregulated.

All land by law belongs to the government, the big question, was compensation offered and the occupants refused?

nnamdizen:
All land by law belongs to the government, the big question, was compensation offered and the occupants refused?

It's obvious the people have not been offered any reasonable compensation, definitely their usual promises. Better still. Such project is better taken to a sparsely populated area due to its associated traffic issues. Besides, going by the reason they gave in court, it is obvious that this government is up to no good.
This is the same governor that instead of fighting the UGM, he chose to fight the traders, forcing them to open their shops without adequate security protection .

Hehehe.

Building bus terminal without road's,what an irony.

What Enugu state needs now is a lot of flyovers to put a stop to hold up here and there.

Dualization of roads and fixing dilapidated roads in Enugu.

Flyover at Holy ghost,Nowas, Abakpa junction and many more is what is needed right now.