Some landlords of Iroko and Cenamon drives, residing at Cedarwood Estate, located along SARS Road in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, have cried out over an alleged forceful occupation of their estates by the managing Director of
Delta Technologies and Properties Limited, Engr Stephen Nyegwa
a resident of Rumuaholu community.

The affected landlords, during a peaceful protest in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, accused the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Special Area Rumudomaya, also known as Rumuokoro Police Division, of aiding one Engr Nyegwa with a detachment of armed police men to forcefully invade their estates and mark their buildings for demolition, an act they described as land grabbing and fraudulent.

Speaking to newsmen on behalf of the affected landlords, Mr. Chinedu Igweze, one of the landlords whose property was marked for demolition at Cenamon Drive, accused Mr. Stephen of brandishing a fake court judgment without a court number that does not exist, in an attempt to take their estates through dubious means.

He told journalists that the accused person has, for the past three days, through the aid of a detachment of police, invaded their estates and marked their buildings for demolition, and is going about brandishing a fake, procured court judgement.

According to Mr. Igweze, one of the landlords who intercepted his operation was arrested by the armed policemen that accompanied him to the estate and taken to Rumuokoro Police station. He added that it was at the Rumuokoro Police Division that the purported court judgement was discovered to be fake and non-existent.

“Surprisingly, we came back to the estate and saw Mr. Nyegwa with a detachment of Police officers from Rumuokoro Police Division still excavating people’s land and taking over people’s property,” he stated.

Also speaking, a legal practitioner and a landlord in the estate, Gbenga Oladapo (Esq.), accused the Divisional Police Officer of Special Area Rumudomaya of aiding the illegal acts and described the move as land grabbing.

He queried the rationale behind the deployment of police personnel by the DPO to aid a man noted for his illicit acts and land grabbing in the state, stressing that the deployment of police officers was to facilitate the fraudulent demolition of people’s property without a valid court judgement.

He called on the Inspector General of Police to immediately redeploy the DPO of Rumudomaya Special Area, adding that some landlords have been admitted to hospital due to the shock that triggered their high blood pressure.

In her speech, another landlord, Mrs. Rita Ibifaka, said she has been living in the estate for a very long time without such an encounter, stressing that they bought the land genuinely from the owner of the land.

“They (land grabbers) gave us seven days to quit our property after marking it for demolition. I am calling on the Rivers State Government and the leadership of Obio/Akpor LGA to come to our aid,” she said.

When contacted, Engr. Stephen Nyegwa denied any wrongdoing and being a land grabber. He stressed that he was fighting to reclaim what belonged to his late father’s family in their large family inheritance, adding that an Appeal court in the state had set aside the earlier judgement in favour of one Mr. Apostle, and that no court judgment stopped him from taking what belongs to his family.

“I am a good citizen of Obio/Akpor LGA. The land is a family land which belonged to our forefathers, precisely Aker. My father took Apostle to high court. Apostle won the case at High court. My father, not satisfied with the judgement of the High court, proceeded to Appeal court where the justices of Appeal court set aside the judgement of the High court and ordered the Chief Judge to re-assign the matter,” he said.

He exonerated the police of any complicity in the matter, adding that the police did not have any hand in the matter.

The Spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, SP Grace Iringe Koko, when contacted, dismissed the allegations that levelled against the DPO by the landlords

The Rivers State Judiciary has 30,734 cases pending in various courts in the state at the close of the 2024/2025 legal year.

The Chief Judge of the state, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi, disclosed this while speaking at a special court session held by the judiciary to mark the end of the 2024/2025 and to herald the beginning of the 2025/2026 legal year in the state, held recently in Port Harcourt.

Amadi stated that the figure represents all the courts in the state, from magistrates to High Courts, as well as others. He averred that the legal year’s special court session is being marked by the judiciary as a memorial for stock-taking of past activities and rating the performances of the judiciary in the legal year ended, with the view to improving on areas of notice.

Justice Simeon Amadi highlighted the absence of a Committee on Prerogative of Mercy in the state, which, he said, has contributed significantly to congestion in custodial centres. He noted that the non-reduction of sentences for inmates, including 493 male and 15 female death-row prisoners, is beyond the Chief Judge’s powers, and called for government intervention.

He thanked the Governor for the support given to the Judiciary so far, and solicited for more encouragement to reduce the pressures judicial officers face in the performance of their duties.

He used the opportunity to announce that the state judiciary, in the legal year under review, generated over ?865 million, and requested the employment of more staff for the judiciary, as well as digitalisation of the state judiciary service.

Also speaking, the President of the Customary Court of Appeal in the state, Justice Wilfred Ihenachor Obuzor, said more new customary courts were established in the state within the period, making the number of customary courts in the state forty.

He listed lack of court rooms, vehicles, and shortage of staff as some of the challenges facing the customary courts in the state, and appealed to the state governor to intervene.

In her speech, the Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Port Harcourt Branch, Mrs. Cordelia Eke, said the 2024-2025 legal year began with optimism but was soon overshadowed by political and institutional turbulence.

She noted that the state of emergency and suspension of key elected officials disrupted democratic governance and tested the resilience of the justice system.

“The absence of an Attorney General caused serious delays in justice delivery, unprocessed legal applications, and financial losses,” Eke stated.

According to her, the situation underscored the urgent need to fortify laws that protect institutions and ensure that the justice system continues to function even in difficult times.

In his own presentation on behalf of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN), Chief Onueze Okocha (SAN), expressed concern over the battered image of the Judiciary, lamenting that many Nigerians have lost faith in the courts due to inconsistent judgments and prolonged case delays.

He urged judges to resist personal interests that could influence their professional conduct, calling for renewed integrity and faster dispensation of justice.

Akujobi Amadi