Artisan Drags Midwestern Oil to Court over Land Acquisition

A Lagos-based artisan, Friday Okolo has dragged Midwestern Oil and Gas Company to a Federal High Court in Abuja, over an alleged fraudulent acquisition of his land for oil exploration.

The plaintiff in the suit filed on his behalf by his lawyer, Nnamdi Ebo, is claiming a whopping sum of N855million compensation from the oil company for allegedly trespassing on his land without his authority.

In the suit which has one Chief Sunday Ochonogor and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as defendants, the plaintiff is praying the Federal High Court for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the oil company from paying annual rent, pledges, dues and other payments to any other person except himself, being the rightful owner of the land upon which the firm is operating.

In his Writ of Summons marked ABJ/CS/952/2018, the plaintiff asked the court to stop the oil firm from recognising or dealing with any other person or family except himself as the lawful owner of the land in dispute and where oil is being explored.

According to his witness statement on oath, the 47 years old electrician, claimed to have purchased two plots of land from one Chief Sunday Ochonogor in 1998 and that all necessary documents relating to the land situated at OlehOgwashi kwu expressway in Ndokwa West Local Government of Delta State were handed over to him.

He claimed that the said private land was sold to him in an outright purchase from the portion of land allocated to the said Ochonogor, being an elder of Umuachi family under the Ukwani Customary Land Tenure and that the said Umuachi family members were fully aware of the sale and transfer of the land portion to him.

The said land measures 1037.9 square metres as shown in the survey plan number AOD/DT/218/1998 dated june 18, 1998 and prepared by licenced surveyor P. O. Odigili.