Niger Delta
Appeal Court Ends 30-Year-Old Ataba Kingship Tussle …As King Benson Retains Stool
In a landmark judgement to end a 30-year old Ataba Chieftaincy dispute, the Federal Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt upheld its earlier verdict which declared King Benson Mgbowaji Egwenre the Oruk XV11 as the legitimate Okan Ama of Ataba Kingdom in the Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.
In a suit: CA/PH/359/2013, the three Honourable justices of the appellate court: Justices Ali Abubakar Gumel, Isaiah Olufemi Akeju and Bitrus Gyarazama Sanga, unanimously affirmed the court’s earlier ruling of October 29, 2015.
The court presided over by Justice Ali Abubakar Gumel on March 21, 2018 ruled that the consent judgement entered into by the two warring groups in the Royal House of Ataba Kingdom remained the final judgement of the court and cited several legal authorities to buttress its ruling.
One Elder Jonah Nteile, an elder of Egwe Isiyork Ruling House of Ataba in Andoni Local Government Area of the State had challenged the said consent judgement of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, describing the purported document as a fraud and gross misrepresentation of facts and asked the same Court to reverse itself.
After delivering judgement in the main motion, the three Justices at the Court of Appeal had in a unanimous decision struck out a motion by the applicant, Elder Jonah Nteile, seeking leave of the court to appeal against its earlier consent judgement of Ocober 29, 2015.
Justices Ali Abubakar Gumel, Isaiah Akeju and Bitrus Sanga affirmed that the court lacked the capacity and power to review their earlier decision on the consent judgement or grant the applicant leave for appeal to the Supreme Court, insisting that the said motion was brought out of time, having been filed on February 15, 2016 for a judgement that was delivered on October 29, 2015, more than 90 days statutorily required for such application.
Citing several other cases to back up the decision of the court, Justice Gumel who read the lead judgement, said consequent upon the late filling of the motion, the application is rendered incompetent and the Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain it and accordingly struck out the application, though without cost.
Furthermore, in the substantive motion, Justice Gumel reviewed the case which dated back to January 1989 and in pursuant to order 16 of the Court of Appeal Rules 2011, referring to the consent judgement, declared “the judgement stands as a valid judgement of competent jurisdiction. It is a final judgement of this Court”.
Justice Gumel whose ruling was also adopted by his other two colleagues, asserted that “this application to set aside a consent judgement of this Court in Appeal No: CA/PH/359/2013, is procedurally wrong and to that extent not cognizable by this Court”.
Describing the application as “dead on arrival” and “incurably bad”, the leading Justice struck out the application for “lack of jurisdiction to entertain same as presently constituted”, but made no order for costs.
Immediately after the ruling that lasted about two hours, Sir Benson Mgbowaji Egwenre, (King Oruk XV11), the Okan Ama of Ataba Kingdom, led a large crowd of Ataba sons and daughters who had thronged the court in solidarity to St. Cyprian’s Anglican Church, Hospital Road, Port Harcourt, to thank God for allowing justice and the voice of the people to prevail.
Reacting to the ruling, the Okan-ama was grateful to God for sustaining peace and massive progress in the community throughout the duration of the case and called for calm, brotherly love, patriotism, and harmonious relationship among the people of Ataba Kingdom.
He said it was only under a peaceful atmosphere that development could take place and admonished the people to avoid divisive tendencies while warming against external influence in the affairs of Ataba community.
Goodluck Ukwe
The Rivers State Primary Healthcare Management Board (RSPHCMB) says it will commence Supplemental Immunization activities on Saturday, May 3, 2025, to vaccinate children from 0-5 years across the State.
The State Health Educator, Dr. Diana Babbo, who stated this during a sensitisation meeting with Media Advocate for Health, Rivers State, on the update of immunization exercise in Rivers State, said the National Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs) is a re-enforcement of the routine immunization at the health facilities.
According to her, it is aimed at boosting polio immunisation against the circulating variance of polio virus currently threatening the total eradication of polio in the country.
She further stated that there are four pillars of polio eradication, namely routine immunization (administered on babies in the health centre), supplemental immunization activity (supplements to boost the babies), surveillance (searching for children that have weakness in their legs or some oart of their bodies), and outbreak response.
The Health Educator noted that the Novel Oral Polio Vaccination Type 2 (NOPV 2) will be administered to children under the age of 0-5 years, which targets a specific polio still in existence in communities and capable of causing paralysis among the stated categories of children, despite the country being certified a polio-free nation.
Dr. Babbo further stated that this year’s NIPDs will address the high number of unresolved non-compliance cases in the State.
She debunked what she tagged a false rumour by mischief makers which claimed that the vaccines are responsible for the development of autism in children.
She said, “vaccines are not known to be responsible for the development of autism. We’re just hearing that. The truth is that one cannot know everything.
“That aspect that has been found, have we looked into other aspects, such as genetically modified foods, drinks, and milks that our children are taking?
“Have we also looked at genetic compatibility between couples before we now say vaccines are causing x, y, z things?
“Are we looking at the environment where these things are happening, what they are peculiar to?
“It must not be peculiar to all the families, there could be something also that’s happening around that we have not known. Research is evolving, let us not accuse our precious vaccines that have succeeded so far in my knowledge, to keep as many sicknesses at bay.
“The reason we do not have small pox in our world today, apart from the lab (a bio-lab) is because we vaccinated to the point where we were able to move small pox totally out of existence from human beings. We can succeed with that same pattern with all kinds of viruses”.
She stated that the connection between autism and vaccination could merely be coincidence.
Babbo, therefore, urged all parents, churches, and school owners to avail their children/wards the opportunity to be vaccinated against polio the stated exercise.
Sogbeba Dokubo
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has restated his administration’s commitment to providing more support to security agencies operating in the state.
He stated this on Tuesday when he received heads of security agencies, including Commander of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe (OPDS), Rear Admiral N.M. Madugu, Flag Officer Commanding Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Ahmed Gaya, and the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 16, Yenagoa, Tolani Alausa, in Government House, Yenagoa.
The Governor assured security agencies across board that his administration would collaborate with them to protect lives and property as well as critical national assets on land and the waterways by providing patrol vehicles, boats and other necessary logistics.
He informed the new OPDS Commander that the task force had a responsibility to protect critical national, state and community assets contributing not only to the daily oil production output for the federal government but also to development and growth of the state.
The Governor stressed that the partnership between the state government and the task force had ensured that crime rate in the state was reduced.
“As a government, we are working round the clock with the security agencies so that our people can sleep with their two eyes closed and also ensure that national assets are safe for the benefit of the people and the government.
“Often, it is misconstrued as though these assets are only for the federal government. Rather, they are for the state, communities and the federal government. So we must work hand-in-gloves to ensure they are safe.
“Therefore, it is our responsibility to always ensure that these critical national, state and community assets are kept safe”, he said.
Responding to the request of the Flag Officer Commanding Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Ahmed Gaya, the Governor stated that he had signed the Certificate of Occupancy of the land allocated to the Nigerian Navy at the New Yenagoa and approved a secondary school at Toru-Ebeni in Sagbama Local Government Area of the state.
He said the State Government was waiting for the naval authorities to commence development of the land.
The new JTF Commander, Rear Admiral Madugu, stated that the visit was to formally introduce himself and to solicit the government’s support to achieve his aim of protecting the critical oil and gas facilities in his area of operation and fulfil the presidential mandate of increasing oil production to 2.5mbpd.
While promising to work with the Nigerian Police to maintain peace in the state, Diri admonished AIG Tolani to be repentant and be more professional in his duties having attained a top position in the force.
The Governor, who recalled the role Tolani played when he was Commissioner of Police in the state during the 2023 governorship election, said: “Let bygone be bygone and work according to your conscience. Ensure that you are repentant and do what is right. Your zone covers Bayelsa and Rivers states and let the interest of both states be uppermost on your mind.”
On disputes among community youth associations, the state’s helmsman wielded the big stick and announced the dissolution of such body in Famgbe Community in Yenagoa Local Government Area.
He directed the Commissioner for Youth Development, working with the Commissioner of Police, to ensure a proper election is held in the community.
Diri also warned that traditional rulers whose communities were embroiled in conflicts would be sanctioned.
“Every other feuding community, including Ogboinbiri, we are still watching you. I have told all traditional rulers, if you cannot ensure peace in your domain but waiting for my wrath to dangle on you, then both traditional rulers and youth bodies will be sacrificed”, Diri said.
Ariwera Ibibo-Howells,
Yenagoa
The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has said no profession in the health sector was superior to others, saying there was need for cooperation among workers in every health facility to achieve optimal results.
He stated this during a courtesy visit by the Bayelsa branch of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) to his office in Government House, Yenagoa, on Tuesday.
He assured that a good number of certified and competent medical laboratory scientists, as well as other medical and health practitioners would be employed based on the needs assessment indices at government’s disposal in the ongoing civil service recruitment exercise.
While appreciating their contributions to quality healthcare service delivery, he said government was ready to collaborate with the Association and other critical stakeholders in the sector to make health services more affordable and accessible to people of the state.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Doubara Atasi, said the current recruitment drive was aimed at addressing manpower needs in some critical sectors, including health, to improve service delivery in the state.
“We’re making progress in the health sector in Bayelsa. But we also admit that there is still much room for improvement.
“As you’re aware, applicants are applying to the state civil service, and some employment slots have been approved for Medical Doctors and Laboratory Scientists to be employed.
“We need competent and highly qualified personnel to be employed into the service to provide quality services.
“Every health worker has a role in health promotion. No profession in the health sector is superior to another. We are ready to collaborate with you to make health services more affordable and accessible to all Bayelsans”, he said.
Earlier in her presentation, the State Chairman of the AMLSN, Eunice Ayamaere Lelei, said there was need for government to employ more qualified laboratory scientists, and provide modern laboratory equipment in all its medical facilities across the state.
Lelei, who emphasized that laboratory scientists play a critical role in healthcare services in Nigeria, called for the implementation of the approved call duty allowance for members of the Association, and funding support for their Mandatory Professional Continuing Development programmes.
Ariwera Ibibo-Howells,
Yenagoa