By Miriam Humbe
Contempt proceedings to commit the Director-General of the National Space Research and Development Agency, Dr. Halilu Ahmad Shaba to jail have begun following the Agency’s disobedience to Court order made against it.
This was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the President, FCT Gbagyi Youth Association, Nuhu Dodondawa Auta.
It would be recall that a certain peasant farmer in the community of Piwoyi village, along Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Road, Abuja Mr. Yohanna Nyibiro Bawa through his lawyer Mr. James Egah Ndeye, issued a Writ of Summons against the National Space Research and Development Agency, popularly known as Obasanjo Space Center, along Airport Road, Abuja on the 21st day of October, 2022 for encroachment into his farmland situate at the premises of the Agency on a purported acquisition of the land by the Agency but without payment of compensation to him and other members of his family.
Mr. Yohanna Nyiboro Bawa, who filed the suit No: FCT/HC/CV/73/2022 through his lawyer James Egah Ndeye Esq; at the FCT High Court claimed among other things:
i. A Declaration that the Plaintiff and his family members have equitable and exclusive possessory right in an undisturbed long possession devolving through their predecessors from time immemorial over the said land measuring about 12 Hectares situate at the premises the Defendants now redesignated as Obasanjo Space Center.
ii. A Declaration that the purported compulsory acquisition of the Plaintiff’s farmland by the Defendants in disregard to safeguard of acquisition law is a flagrant infraction into the Plaintiff’s fundamental right to fair hearing, right to property and right to compensation as guaranteed under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
iii. An order compelling the Defendant to provide alternative farmland to the Plaintiff and members of his family for the purpose of carrying on their farming activities which is their only means and source of livelihood.
iv. The sum of 2,000,000,000 (Two Billion Naira) only being general damages to the Plaintiff and members of his family for that act of trespass, destruction of their economic trees and violation of their fundamental rights to fair hearing, property as guaranteed under section 36, 43 and 44 of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria.
In the process of the adjudication by the FCT High court sitting in Kuje, the lawyer for the peasant farmer, Mr. James Egah Ndeye filed a Motion on Notice No: M/40/2023 seeking for an Order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Defendants/Respondents, their agents, servants, employees, representatives or privies or any other person acting for them or on their behalf or deriving authority from them from further trespassing, encroachment and/or taking over the Plaintiff’s farmland thereby destroying their economic trees or doing anything that would affect the Plaintiff’s interest and rights on their farmland known and called Nyiboro family farmland situate at Galu farm area, Piwoyi otherwise now known as Obasanjo Space Center, Airport Road, Abuja measuring about 12 hectares.
The Honourable Court under the hand of Hon. Justice V.S. Gaba granted the order as prayed on the 11th of May, 2023 against the Defendant/Respondent, the National Space, Research and Development Agency.
This is the Order the Agency has blatantly disobeyed by going into the peasant farmer’s land cutting down again their economic trees and blocking the farmer’s access road to the land against the order of the Court.
The Defendant, who has never entered appearance in the case since it was filed on the 21/10/2022 despite all the processes of the couyrt being served on them including and particularly, the said Order, is to face the wrath of the Court by the commencement of the contempt proceedings that will soon lead the Director-General, Dr. Halilu Ahmed Shaba, on behalf of the Agency, to prison.
Commenting on the incidence, Mr. Nuhu Dodondawa Auta, President, FCT Gbagyi Youth Association, lamented the arbitrary use of powers of some government agencies like the NASRDA who are expected to uphold the rule of law and respect the Court of the land.
He lamented further that the Agency has created inconducive atmosphere for the peasant farmer and members of his family by frequent threats of arrest and detention by the policemen attached to the Agency’s Centre whenever they are going to their normal routine activities on the land.
He commended the peasant farmer and members of his family for not taking the law into their hands but chose the legal means to ventilate their grievances but disappointed by the Agency’s unruly behaviour to the extent of disrespecting the Court of the land.
The President of the Youth further testified that he had exerted his own effort through his association to broker peace between the agency and the farmer, but the Agency kept frustrating the efforts and every means of amicable resolution of the matter.
The President is therefore, calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to caution the Director-General not to disrupt the President’s renewed hope agenda for Nigeria and his priority areas for good governance.
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