By Mercy Gadia Adi
Residents of Umobor Akaeze village in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State have called on the state government to enforce a Supreme Court judgment on a disputed piece of land, saying its implementation would end decades of violence and killings in the area.
The call was made on Tuesday at the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions by Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International on behalf of the community.
Speaking with journalists after the hearing was adjourned, legal representative of the petitioners, Barrister Innocent, said the community approached the National Assembly to ensure that relevant authorities implement the Supreme Court ruling on the land.
According to him, the dispute has led to repeated violence in the community despite the court’s final decision on the matter.
“The Supreme Court has already taken a final decision on the matter. Nobody has the authority to sit on appeal over that judgment. What the people are asking for is the implementation of that decision,” he said.
He alleged that more than 41 people had been killed over the years as a result of the lingering dispute.
“Over the years, there have been several killings in that village. The people need peace. They have lost many lives, including their children,” he added.
The lawyer also called on the Ebonyi State Governor to urgently intervene by directing officials of the state boundary committee and the Ivo Local Government boundary committee to brief him on the situation surrounding the land.
“We believe the governor may not have been adequately informed about what is happening. We are calling on him to urgently direct the boundary committees to brief him and ensure that the Supreme Court judgment is implemented,” he said.
Also speaking, a community leader from Umobor Akaeze, Chief Innocent Ibe Okorie said the crisis had persisted for decades despite the Supreme Court ruling in favour of the community.
The 78-year-old said the people were predominantly farmers who had chosen peaceful and lawful means to pursue justice.
“At my age now, I am 78 years old. This matter has been there since the time of our forefathers. We are peace-loving people; our occupation is farming and we train our children through farming,” he said.
He explained that instead of resorting to violence, the community had pursued the matter through the courts from the customary court to the Supreme Court.
“We went from customary court to High Court, to Court of Appeal and finally to the Supreme Court, and we won at all the stages. Rather than take up arms, we decided to follow the path of peace and law,” he added.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions adjourned the hearing of the petition until June after it discovered that some parties involved in the matter had not been properly served with hearing notices.
The committee said the adjournment would allow time for all parties, including the Ebonyi State Boundary Committee and the Ivo Local Government Boundary Committee, to be duly notified and present their positions at the next sitting.