Prince Peter Uwadiae Esq
* Say claims are aberration, illegal until due process is followed
By Kingsley Abavo, Benin
One of the latest issues rocking the social space of Edo State; is the claimed acquisition of the land along the rural area of Obazagbon – Irhirhi – Ogheghe road of the State Capital; by the Governor Godwin Obaseki led People Democratic Party (PDP) administration, since the year 2017. The land is acquired for the over riding public interest: building of a ‘New Town’; Government said. Consequently, a couple of days ago, it sent bulldozers to site to demolish all standing property in the Land saying they were illegal structures by encroachers. Commenting on the following All Progressives Congress (APC) critism of the development, Media Aide to the Governor, Crusoe Osagie had labelled the APC members as land grabbers, who are afraid of being caught in the web of Government punitive actions. In this interview Wednesday, 5 October, 2022, with our Bureau Chief: Kingsley Abavo in Benin-City, the mouth piece of the Party, Prince Peter Enoserogbe Uwadiae Igbinigie Esq. lambast the State Government saying; until the due process of acquisition of property as stipulated by the extant laws of Nigeria is followed to the letter, all its actions at the contentious Land is tantamount to illegality and cannot stand. He adds, from prevailing happening; the Obaseki led Government is the utmost land Grabber here.
Full text:
Edo State Government say it acquired the contentious area of land at Obazagbon – Irhirhi – Ogheghe road in 2017, but your Party position seems to support the alleged encroachers. Your take Sir?
The claim by the Government that the land was acquired in 2017 is not only misleading, but a complete aberration because legally; before anyone can acquire a land there are established procedures to be followed.
I will take us down the memory lane in terms of the legal position as it relates to the acquisition of land in Edo State or Benin Kingdom. Before the promulgation of the land use Act, all the land within Benin Kingdom were under the trusteeship of His Royal Majesty, the Oba of Benin. The land itself rest squarely with the community; there was what we call communal ownership of Land but the Oba serves as Trustee for those Communities.
If you want to acquire land prior to the promulgation of the Land Use decree, or Land Use Act as it is properly called now; you will apply through the communities who are the communal owner of the Land, to the Oba for his approval for one to own land.
In other words, there is that legal belief or legal conceptual belief that the land is owned by the community.
But in 1978 when the Land Use Act was promulgated, the military oligarchy we had in the country then, believed that it was difficult to acquire land for public use and they now designed that decree which in 1979 was adopted as the Act of the National Assembly.
In that decree, the land within the urban area were now in the custody of the Governor while at the Local Government Area, the land was now placed in the custody of the administrator or Chairman as their name implies.
It should be noted that even in the decree, ownership was still not removed from the individual allotee or original owner recognized prior to its promulgation. What it simply did was to make the Governor Supritendent over the allocation of Land within the urban area and ditto the local Government.
Now, what happened in 2017; even if anything happened at the behest of the claim of Government; they claimed that they acquired the land in 2017 meaning therefore, before 2017, the allottees were the Villagers; the community people who lived in that area were the real owners otherwise, Government would not have been acquiring it in 2017.
The question that begs for answer now is this: by the provision of the Land Use Act was the procedure for the acquisition of land followed?
And I will give you a background information as to the procedure: the Government in law, is different from the Governor. The Government has a legal personality, it is a juristic person; the Governor is also different.
Now, if the Government wants to acquire land, it will follow the due process like you and I as well. Meaning, that first there must be application for the acquisition of the Land because it is going to be acquired for over riding public interest which by law, must be clearly stated that we are acquiring the land for this particular purpose.
Therefore, there must be a tripartite meeting between the original owners, or original allottees who you want to take the land from, the Governor and the Government: the acquiring authority.
There must be an agreement by those people: the original allottees who will say we are ready to give the land to Government because of the over riding public interest; this is step one.
At that point of the agreement, the ownership of the land has not shifted from those who are in quiet and peaceable possession of the Land: the original allottees.
The second procedure will be that the Government will have to aggregate all the land to be acquired into one, and there will be a survey of the entire land the Government wants to acquire.
After that survey, the individual interest of the allottees will now be enumerated: Mr A owns 50 × 100, Mr. B owns 100 × 100 as the case may be.
After this stage of enumeration, the ownership of the land is still with the original allottees, it has not been shifted to Government or the acquiring authority.
The next step to be followed which is very important; recognized by the statuses, is that there will be an estate valuers report on the various interests which have been aggregated; what the value of the Land is.
At that point in time, Mr. A will know, his Land which is a 100× 100 for instance, is worth N50,000 as the case may be; this is what should be expected from the Edo State Government.
At the point of evaluation, the ownership has still not changed from the original allottees to Government: the acquiring authority.
The last step which is most fundamental of it all, is that the acquiring authority will now have to recompense the original owners by paying compensation and the law did not just say compensation, the law is very definite as to the type of compensation; that these persons are entitled by saying adequate compensation.
If a statute goes beyond the pretext of using a term and the drafter specifically put a term in a statute, the term is to be given the literary meaning. If we say ‘adequate’ it means sufficient compensation.
Therefore, it is after the payment of sufficient compensation to this aggregated allottees that the ownership of that Land, will now transfer from those who have been compensated: the original owners to the acquiring authority, which is the Government.
Until, and unless that adequate compensation is paid, the ownership cannot transfer. It is just like an individual trying to acquire land from another individual; even if a deed of transfer has been prepared and consideration has not been paid, even if the deed of transfer has been signed and compensation has not been received by the transferor from the transferee, ownership of that property still resides with the transferor.
So, in this instant case, Edo State Government claim they acquired the Land in 2017 and from my respected brother, the Commissioner for information and Orientation, Chris Enehikhare shot himself in his legs; at the behest of himself when he said that Government has not even paid compensation to those persons who are the original allottees; enumeration has not been done of those persons who are the original allottees, the evaluation of the Land has not been done for them to know the adequate compensation to be paid those persons who are the original allottees, yet they went into the Land to claim ownership. How has the ownership been transferred to Government?
Now, from all of these analysis I have made, can ownership be transferred to Government when all of these due process recognized by law, have not been duly followed? This is a question for the public to answer.
And if ownership has not changed and Government now decided to invade the
Land which is in quiet and peaceable possession of the original allottees, can the Government therefore not be regarded as Land Grabber? This question I again leave with the public because if you enter a Land which is in quiet and peaceable possession of the original and recognized owners, you are treated in law as a Grabber.
From the totality of all these explanation, who is the Land Grabber here, is it not the Edo State Government?
Another aspect of it is this because this matter like I know is being looked into, by a competent Court of jurisdiction. And who are the parties? The Edo State Government, the Attorney general of the State. I am aware the Court in the exercise of its authority, has issued an interlocutory injunction restraining all parties particularly the defenders, from entering or trespassing into the Land.
What is an interlocutory injunction? It is not an Ex – parte. The life span of an interlocutory injunction is granted to protect the rest until the final determination of the case by the Court that is hearing it. As at today Court 8 presides over by Justice Eboreimen J. is still hearing that matter; judgement has not been delivered to say that Edo State Government is the owner of the Land in question. There is still a subsisting injunction up till now.
Can we not now say that Edo State Government is in contempt of the order of Court, duly granted in the course of trial? And if the Government is in contempt of Court order; my advice to the Counsel handling the matter is to set machinery in motion, to ensure the Government in ‘quote’ is contempted; form 48 and form 49, let the Court adjudicate on the contempt proceeding and take a proper stand on it because the magistranum of the Court to issue out orders, have been violated, and denigrated by people who are supposed to know and respect the law because the Government today is a democratic one, anchored on the rule of law.
Democracy is the Government of the people, by the people and for the people regulated by law; and the laws are not meant to be flouted by Government; it should respect the law as individuals on the streets. But what we find in Edo State today; is that the Government treat orders of the Court with utmost levity, and impunity which cannot be allowed in a civilized clime like Edo State.
All right; like you have said, if the matter is in Court, why did the people ( original owners so to say) still go sell the Land to developers who started building on it?
The case was taken to Court when? That is the question you should have asked. Contrary to the claim of Government that it acquired the land in 2017, before the case was taken to Court, the land was still in quiet and peaceable possession of the original allottees: owners. The injunctive reliefs starts from when it was granted in Court; it was not granted to have a retrospective effect. So, it was very recently they went to Court when the injunctive order was granted. All those people who developed their land up to that level, did before the injunctive order was granted. And since the order was granted, they have maintained the status quo antebellum: this is before hostility began in Court. So, the persons who developed their land did before they went to Court and since the Court action, they have stopped building.
But what the Edo State Government have done, they went into that land even when there is a subsisting Court order and started demolishing properties. They have the copies of the order of Court, they were duly served and they are party to it. So if they have woken up today and begin to do things contrary to the order of Court, that is contemptuous, that is grabbing of the highest magnitude known to law and that is very abusive to the integrity and magistranum of the Court.
Ok, in the Government bid to fighting this hydra headed land grabbing problem in Edo, do you think at this time demolishing properties provides the desired solution?
Fighting land grabbing is quite an intricate issue in the sense that there are a lot of variables to creating an enabling environment. First and foremost, the owners of the land which has been grabbed must complain because land grabbing is a criminal act which has two segment: firstly; there must be a complainant and a suspect.
But today what we find; there are situations where the Government talk about land grabbing: there are no even complainants, no suspects. Perceived enemies of Government are the tagged suspects; it is the Government that claim to be the complainant. So in such situation, you must tread softly; as Government attitude to the issue of land grabbing in Edo is very mundane, obsolete, very archaic, very very illegal, and polluted with acts to creating problems in Edo rather than solving them.
In reaction to your Party: APC critism of the development; a couple of days ago, the media aide to the Governor, Crusoe Osagie stated that members of your party; the All Progressives Congress are the land grabbers and are afraid they will be caught in the web of Government punitive actions. Your take Sir?
It is so unfortunate that someone like Crusoe Osagie who should have known better, will be talking the way he did calling the APC land grabbers. We have no regards for such statement; it should be treated with utmost ignominy and levity because it is coming from the man who do not even know the right and appropriate approach to issues of this nature. The APC have not been made a party to any issue of land grabbing known to law in Edo State. Let me point out that before you can label a party or group of people land grabbers, they must have been mentioned to had unlawfully entered into a Land, which is in quiet and peaceable possession by an individual or group of people, tried and convicted by a Court of competent jurisdiction.
If the APC in Edo wants to acquire land, we know the due process to follow as we are people of intelligence and diverse knowledge of the law; as it operates in a civilized environment like we want to see and behold in Edo, which is absent now because of the negative attitude of the Government.
How have we grabbed land? What land? Who have report of the APC or members to have grabbed Land? The only case in Edo that is even similar is that of Tony Kabaka which a Court of competent jurisdiction, has pronounced upon that the land rightly belongs to him, and that the Edo State Government should go rebuild his hotel which it demolished. And the State Government have filed a very nauseating appeal against that judgement; a well considered judgement, from a well seasoned Judge that the land was duly acquired and the building which was demolished by this non grata Government; should be rebuilt.
In fact, Crusoe Osagie should go back pick his books to know; what land grabbing is. They are using the concept in a wrong premise, and labelling people who are innocent as land grabbers.
As at today, by the action of Government in demolishing the Tony Kabaka’s hotel and claiming that the land belongs to Government, they have grabbed that land.
For emphasis, I want to also say this: in this Obazagbon, Irhirhi issue who do you claim as the land grabber? Is it not the Edo State Government Crusoe represents? And he has the effrontery to label the APC members land grabbers. He should apologize profusely to the APC members in Edo State, for wrongful accusation.
As a legal practitioner, victims of the properties demolished by the State Government, what should they do now in the prevailing situation?
The matter is already in Court, when a case is pending in Court, you can bring issues that happened until judgement is delivered to the fore of the Court. What I would expect the lawyer handling the matter for the Claimants, is to amend their processes to reflect these happenings. They are to be compensated for the demolition because no law, no statute have I ever come acrossed permits the Government to do what they have done
So, if you take steps that are inimical to law, the consequences are also there replete in the same law. So, the consequence is that what the Government has done today, is unknown to law, people who owns the property, should take steps to evaluate whatever their loses are, incorporate it into the case they have in Court, and ask that they be granted compensation for the demolished properties.
Now, for a Government that claim to be working for the welfare of the people, with its action at Obazagbon – Irhirhi – Ogheghe road what is the impression?
No gain saying, it is certainly anti people and we have always spoken as a political party, that today we don’t have a Government in Edo, we only have a sole administrator. A man who has people around him who are intellectuals yet, they do things wrongly. It therefore means, either they are not advising him properly, or he is not listening to them.
Go round Benin-City, what you find is very nauseating; the impacts of Government is not felt in any way. The hardship people go through daily have been aggravated by the Obaseki led PDP Government. Looking unto Government; what are its primary responsibilities? Protecting lives and property.
But today in Edo people are not safe, they cannot sleep with their eyes closed. We have always called this Government to explain to us what it does with the security votes that it receives from the Federal Government monthly; which amounts to no less than N750m. Insecurity is perpetually on the high.
Then again, continued demolition of properties in Edo, families are put back to the streets homeless, people who are managing to survive amidst the excruciating hardship inflicted on them by your Government, you have further increased their pain by demolishing their homes: we do not have a Government in Edo. Obaseki is a misfit, hence the PDP Government in Edo is anti people and everyone who supported him yesterday are regretting.
In all of these, what is the position of the APC?
Our position is very clear, elections are around the corner, now nobody needs to be told where the vote should go. As individual in Edo, what the PDP Government has inflicted on us is clear to everyone. When Oshiomhole was the Governor of Edo State, the people were very happy; jubilation everywhere, the economy was booming, people were happy to go to the market to buy and sell, at very low prices but today; there is no even a market to go to.
Therefore, we are urging the Edo people not to sell their vote; they should vote wisely, vote the APC, return the APC to Government in Edo and we can assure; that all these problems confronting us today: unabating demolition of both private and public properties including health facilities, the red roof revolution which has been brought to a halt, and all other aspects of Government, that have been completely halted by the Obaseki led PDP Government, will be revived, revitalized, reengineered and refocused when the APC Government is returned to power again in Edo.
From the House of Assembly, House of Representatives, to the Senate; and in 2024, we beg the Edo people to do the needful: which is to vote the APC. And for the Presidential Election, we have a man who is a politician, a man who knows the pains of our people and the Jagaban of our time; would change the narrative in Edo if voted into office come 2023.
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