Oil wells dispute: S’court to hear applications in Rivers, Imo suit Jan 17

The supreme court has fixed January 17, 2022, to hear an application challenging its jurisdiction in a suit seeking to stop the federal government from ceding 17 oil wells to Imo.

The Rivers state government, through its attorney-general, had dragged the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and the Imo state attorney-general before the supreme court over boundary tussles.

In July, the apex court issued an order restraining the federal government and its agencies from ceding 17 oil wells to Imo state.

The oil wells are located in Akri and Mgbede communities, where the Rivers and Imo state governments are disputing boundaries.

While the AGF filed a counter-affidavit against the writ of summons of Rivers state, Imo state filed a motion on notice challenging the jurisdiction of the supreme court on the case.

Olusola Oke, Imo state counsel, contended that since Rivers state brought the suit to challenge the action of some federal government agencies and not the FG itself, the matter ought to have been instituted before a federal high court and not the apex court.

At the court session on Monday, Oke and Remi Olatubora, AGF counsel, argued that hearing the motion challenging the jurisdiction of the court and the competence of the suit ought to take precedence over the main suit.

Rivers, however, told the court that their summons for direction by the court in streamlining the various applications ought to take precedence.

They suggested that the motions by the Imo government should be heard with the main suit.

The seven-member panel of justices led by Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, fixed January 17 to hear the motions.

In the main suit, Rivers state government is asking the court to declare “that the boundary between Rivers state and Imo state, as delineated on Nigeria administrative map, 10, 11 and 12 editions and other maps bearing similar delineations are inaccurate, incorrect, and do not represent the legitimate and lawful boundaries between the two states.”

The plaintiff is also seeking a declaration that the said maps and other maps bearing similar delineations relating to the boundaries between Rivers and Imo are “unlawful and void and cannot be relied on to determine the extent of the territorial governmental jurisdiction of Rivers state.”

It is praying the court to declare that the oil wells within Akri and Mbede communities are wrongly attributed to Imo state as they fall within the territory of Rivers state and form part of Rivers state.