Lawyer petitions IGP over land row ‘involving police commissioner’

Uju Ken-Ohanenye, a lawyer, has petitioned Ibrahim Idris, inspector-general of police, over the alleged refusal of Danmallam Mohammed, Enugu commissioner of police, to adopt a court a ruling on disputed plots of lands belonging to her.

In the petition, dated February 12, Ken-Ohanenye accused Mohammed of perverting justice, on the real owner of the land.

According to her, she purchased plots of land at located at Cattle Lairage, Emena Industrial Layout, Enugu, adding that she perfected all relevant government papers to establish her ownership in 2013.

She said, however, members of the state government allegedly confiscated the plots and distributed it them among themselves.

She explained that she instituted a court action against the attorney-general of the state as well as the commissioner in charge of land.

Ken-Ohanenye said A.R. Ozoemena, the presiding judge at the Enugu high court, after hearing the case, on July 21, 2016, ruled in her favour and nullified the purported confiscation of the land.

Ozoemena, in the judgement, barred the defendants and their agents from depriving her of ownership of the land and that in the event the land is needed in the public interest, the defendant must first pay her adequate compensation for the improvement effected on the land.

Ken-Ohanenye, who is the chief executive of Kenuj Investment Limited, requested the court for the execution of the judgement to enable her recover the land.

She said the court authority notified Mohammed on the decision to execute the judgement through court officials.

The petitioner said the commissioner and a lawmaker conspired to ignore the court ruling and deprive her of the land.

She alleged that several attempts by the court to enforce the judgement were “thwarted and frustrated by the police chief”.

Ken-Ohanenye  therefore called on the IGP to call Mohammed to order and allow her ownership of her land.

Efforts to get  Amaraizu Ebere , the command’s spokesman, to react to the allegation proved futile as he failed to pick up calls put through to him.

He also did not respond to the text message sent.