₦airaland Forum

So, is it a private road as claimed by JERDA?
Certainly not. The road was tarred by the government of Colonel Akintonde in 1993. Those of us in Ebute travelled thru that road to purchase our properties. When the journalists came, they met the road there, and they bought parcels of land to the right and left of the road. The natives who sold the land to them are still alive, hail and hearty. They stood on that road to point out the portions now called Journalists Estate Phase 1.
Before the area was developed, the road was already on the gazzetted map of OPIC excision and labelled as Beachland Ebute Road.
Trouble started when JERDA constructed a barricade at the entrance of their area and labelled the public road private.

The media has been awash in the last one week over allegations of “unlawful invasion, criminal destruction to property and persistent threat to lives and property” by the Executive of the Journalist Estates Residents Association against the Oba of the town, residents of Beachland Estate and unidentified resident hoodlums in the community.
Rather than making this a point-by-point rebuttal of JERDA’s petition, it is good we look at the timeline of events and issues leading to the incident of February 8.


What is at stake?
The cause of the conflict is nothing more than the right of unfettered access through the public road passing through Journalists Estate Phase 1 by communities behind estate. This conflict is more than fifteen years old, and it has seen the structure at the entrance of Journalist’s Estate Phase 1 morphing from a full barricade to an arc and iron bar.
Of course, JERDA officials would always say that “it is just an arc, it is not disturbing anybody”. But that is far from reality. The arc, its adjoining security outpost and the very bold inscription across the road screams “private property, no entry”. Residents of Estates located in Ebute have had to struggle intermittently with new generations of JERDA EXCO as they make policies and assume illegal jurisdiction as to who can pass and when they can pass through that section of the road.
So, if a non-resident and sometimes, even residents are coming into Ebute, it is at the whims and caprice of the agents of JERDA at the arc to admit or turn back the commuter. Permanently, a bike is not allowed to pass through that portion of the public road: There is no enabling law for this, other than the pleasure of JERDA Executives. If an Ebute resident happens to come late in the night, he risks being turned back at that arc because it is late. If a visitor is coming in, he is pointed to the inscription that that stretch is a private estate and turned back accordingly. Even, Google Maps is confused by the barrier as it wrongly directs users to the pipeline because of its presence.
It was bad enough that once when there was a fire outbreak at the pipeline, the fire-fighting equipment from NNPC and the fire department coming to Ebute Area was unable to pass because the height of the arc was a hindrance.

So, is it a private road as claimed by JERDA?
Certainly not. The road was tarred by the government of Colonel Akintonde in 1993. Those of us in Ebute travelled thru that road to purchase our properties. When the journalists came, they met the road there, and they bought parcels of land to the right and left of the road. The natives who sold the land to them are still alive, hail and hearty. They stood on that road to point out the portions now called Journalists Estate Phase 1.
Before the area was developed, the road was already on the gazzetted map of OPIC excision and labelled as Beachland Ebute Road.
Trouble started when JERDA constructed a barricade at the entrance of their area and labelled the public road private.

What has been done to resolve the conflict
When the residents of Ebute Area could no longer stomach the illegal assumption of access control by JERDA, and after a few skirmishes arising from the same, we went to court in April 2010 in a class action instituted on behalf of the residents of the area known as Ebute Arepo, against the residents of Journalist Estate Phase 1 to seek appropriate reliefs. As an aside, it is instructive to note that there is no harassment whatsoever against journalists. There are two estates for journalists in Arepo. The Phase 2 residents are not involved. It is purely a conflict between two neighboring communities.
An Order of the Court was issued, granting the reliefs sought by the Ebute residents by the Honourable Justice Osinuga on the 19th of May, 2010 granting the following relief, among others:
“ ‘An order of mandatory injunction ordering the Defendants to remove the structure(s), gate(s) and/or barrier(s) mounted on the said common/public highway known as Arepo Road and obstructing the Claimants’ right of way
‘An order of perpetual injunction restricting the Defendants by themselves or by their servants or agents, or otherwise howsoever from mounting and/or erecting any structure(s) and/or barrier(s) or any like thing on any part of the common/public highway know as Arepo Road or in any manner obstructing the Claimants’ right of way over the said road.’”
This injunction was granted pending the hearing of the motion on notice. Instead of the respondents to proceed to argue their position in court, they decided to instead challenge the jurisdiction of the lower court at the Appeal Court. The Appeal Court ruled against them. They proceeded to the Supreme Court, where the matter has been pending. In all this, injunctions have not been discharged as the respondents have not been able to convince the court, in the last twelve years, why there should be any structure across that road.
Local, non-Judicial Interventions
It is instructive to note that in the wake of the commencement of the construction of the Arepo Road by the Government of His Excellency, Governor Dapo Abiodun, the arc was finally brought down to make way for the construction. In a stake-holders meeting involving the representatives of the Olu of Arepo, Oba Solomon Atanda, the EXCOs of Journalists Estate Phase 1 and Beachland Estate Residents Association in the Office of the Commissioner for Works, it was agreed, among other things, that the issue of erecting an arc should be put in abeyance until the road is completed.
In another meeting with the Board of Trustees of Arepo Community Development Council, the same agreement was reached. Meanwhile, the Counsel to Ebute Landlords had written to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works after the meeting at Abeokuta that the issue of permitting the erection of an Arc across the road is sub judice.
It was surprising, that in spite of the extant judicial and moral restraints, the EXCO of JERDA went ahead to clandestinely commence the illegal erection of the arc.


So, what about the Olu of Arepo?
It is unfortunate that the Olu f Arepo is being blackmailed harassed through the media claiming that he was against the erection of the arc because he was not bribed. As stated by the Asiwaju of Arepo when the Ministry of Works sent an inspection team following JERDA’s petition, the residents of Ebute, as well as the residents of JERDA all bought their properties from the town’s traditional authorities. Now, there are huge developments coming up beyond the Ebute Zone, for instance, the 250-acre Arepo Urban City Eko Prosper Estate I, all depending on the same Ebute Road for a right of access. It is the interest of the Oba that no residential area in the town is deprived unlawfully of their legitimate rights. It has nothing to do with bribes or Isakole, but ensuring that all areas of the town experience even development.
The focus on the Olu is just an attempt to break the community solidarity and isolate the residents from appealing to the moral and traditional authority of the Oba.


Conclusion
We would like to conclude by saying that all the noise about targeted harassment of Journalists in Arepo is unfounded. The residents of Beachland Estate are law abiding citizens and have prosecuted this matter lawfully from the beginning. There are Police Stations in Ibafo and Warewa, and if people have been harassed, there would be records in those stations.
The only records you will find, if it involves Beachland Estate, would be reports by us to get the Police to stop the EXCO of JERDA from doing anything pre judicial to our interests.

Hi was just reading your post though late. Is the property still available? i need a brief understanding of Maraba area, i mean the population size, market, housing need, cost of a bungalow etc. This is needed to know the viabilioty of the investment in Maraba if if the proporty is to be purchased.

Hi all, i would like to know the population size in Maraba area of nNassarawa State. Aslo i would not mind if i have its  market size. Is there a need for houses and how and where can one get a building for sale