A Cry For Justice
Widow who cried out to Delta State Governor over plot to use trick to acquire her land by alleged land grabbers in Ughelli has taken her battle to Court
By Ovie Edomi
Last month a Secondary School teacher and widow, Christian Omorhurhu, cried to the Governor of Delta State, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, to come to her aid as some people known for land grabbing in Ughelli metropolis went through the back door to acquire the only plot of land she bought almost 20 years ago using Co-orperative Society borrowed funds. When the Governor of Delta state did not respond to her cry despite the State’s law on land grabbing, she went to Court.
In a writ of Summon dated 20th April 2025 which the Lawyer, A. E. Okiki Esq fail to serve Christian Omorhurhu until August 6, 2025,a period of almost four months after obtaining the writ of surmom, the lawyer to Christian Omorhurhu, in his reply to High Court writ of surmon, averred that the claimants failed to demonstrate any legal or factual nexus that would establish the defendant’s property as part of the underlying judgement in suit No. UHC/46/1988. Also, the defendant’s Lawyer, John Okoriko Esq insisted that the execution of the final judgement which the Makolomis are carrying about must be enforced within a statutory period of typically 10 years from the date of the delivery of the final judgement or the date of the confirmation of the final judgement.
It would be recalled that the land in contention is located in Ewu bush in Upper Agbarho, Ughelli, was bought from a certain family not the Makolomis but the Makolomis who obtained a Court judgement concerning Onibuebue farmland also in Upper Agbarho, Ughelli, a different place mentioned in the judgement, went to Omorhurhu with the Court judgement claiming that their land extends to her land. When Omorhurhu insisted that the Court ruling does not include her land which is located in Ewu bush, the Makolomis went to the Police Area Command in Ughelli to arrest her in February this year. Curiously the press got wind of her arrest and a message was sent to the Area Commander on 25th February, 2025 by this Editor. The Area Commander in response directed the journalist to contact the Delta State Commissioner of Police statng however that Christian Omorhurhu has been released. Even then the Journalist then sent a message to the Delta state Police Public Relations Officer on the matter because certain persons had written a letter to the Delta State Commissioner of Police in a letter dated May 20, 2024 titled: Re-Defective Enforcement of Purported Court Judgement and Forceful Demand of Money from our Clients….Who are not parties or Privies to the said judgement by (1) Gabriel Makolomi (2) Paul Makolomi and (3) Augustine Makolomi. In the petition, they demanded for police investigation.
Meanwhile, His Royal Majesty, the Ovie of Ughelli, who is the custodian of the historical record of lands in his domain had told the Makolomis that the judgement which they have, does not extend to where the Makolomis are laying claim to in their dispute with Omorhurhu.
Furthermore, when this magazine’s Editor contacted Barrister Okiki, the Lawyer handling the mattter demanding for the Court judgement that the Makolomis are parading in the Ughelli metropolis, in addition to the land Survey attached to the judgement to show that the land in question falls within the area under contention by Omorhurhu and her Lawyer, he refused to send the Court judgement to the Editor. When this Reporter later contacted him to inform him that he has gotten a copy of the judgement, Suit no UHC/46/19988, he ran to Court to get a writ of Summon on 20th April 2025 but failed to serve Omorhurhu until she started fence construction in August. Even after serving Omorhurhu the writ of surmon, which he, Barrister Okiki obtained almost four months ago, he still allowed his clients to go ahead to destroy the fence which the widow, Omorhurhu, had constructed. Now that the case is before the High Court in Ughelli, Delta state, the outcome of the matter will determine whether organised land grabbers in Delta state will change from their antics of absolute recklessness of land grabbing in major cities in Delta state and beyond or not, a concerned neighbour of the defendant stated.