Indigenes of Ugborodo in Warri South-West Local Government Area, Delta State have prayed the Federal High Court of Nigeria in the Warri Judicial Division holden at Warri to grant Order of Interlocutory Injunction stopping the Federal Government, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Nigeria Port Authority, NPA, Delta State Government and the Delta State Commissioner of Justice (all defendants) from naming the Deep Seaport in Ugborodo after Gbaramatu pending the determination of the substantive suit.
In a motion on notice brought pursuant to Order 28 rule 1 and Order 26 rule 1 of the Federal High Court in Suit no: FHC/WR/86/2015, the Ajuwaoyiboyami aka Akulagba of Warri Kingdom, Chief Ayirimi Emami, Labour Party Delta South Senatorial Candidate in the March 28, 2015 general elections, Itse Elijah Wilkie, Mike Okoturo, Pastor Emiko Fregene and Samuel Pira on behalf of Ugborodo community, asked the court to declare that “the proposed naming of the Deep Seaport sited in Ugborodo land between Madangho and Ubefan” is “wrongful, against public policy, unconstitutional, illegal and therefore null and void.”
The plaintiffs through their Solicitor, Chief E.L. Akpofure (SAN) also prayed the court to compel the defendants, “to remove the name Gbaramatu” from the nomenclature of the Deep Seaport project and to replace it with Ogidigben or after any of the communities in Ugborodo land in its Itsekiri name and not Gbaramatu.
In a 20-minute submission Wednesday July 1, 2015 before Hon. Justice Shittu Abubakar of the Federal High Court, Warri, Chief E.L. Akpofure (SAN) posited that the naming of the project does not affect the execution of it, hence the defendants cannot be said to be prejudiced.
According to him, naming of projects like Petroleum Training Institute after Warri before it was changed to Effurun and Delta Broadcasting Service, DBS, Edjeba, earlier named DBS Warri caused unrest and as such the plaintiffs do not want renewed hostilities between the Ijaws and Itsekiris, hence the Interlocutory Injunction to stop the Deep Seaport from being named after Gbaramatu.
He stressed that allowing the defendants to name a Seaport sited in Ugborodo after Gbaramatu will amount to “sowing a seed of discord and disharmony between Ugborodo people and their Ijaw brothers/sisters,” insisting that it “is done in bad faith and actuated by malice.”
Hon. Justice Shittu Abubakar in his declaration gave the defendants five days from today, July 1, 2015 to respond to prayer of the plaintiffs and fixed Tuesday July 7, 2015 for motion of hearing on the Interlocutory Injunction.
Our Correspondents report that PDP Chairmanship Candidate for Warri South-West Local Government in the last Delta State Local Government election, Hon. Weyinmi Omadeli, a President of Itsekiri National Youths Council, INYC, Comrade Esimaje Awani and some indigenes of Ugborodo were in attendance at the court.
×
![]()