Court Thrashes Rivers Community’s Chieftaincy Tussle

A Port Harcourt High Court presided over by Justice Augusta K-Chuku, has finally laid to rest the long drawn dispute of the ownership and Paramount Rulership of Kom-Kom Community in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State in a suit Number OYHC/24/2009 between Chief S.N. Azuh, Chief Benneth Uzuegbu and others.
Delivering judgement which lasted for hours, the judge dismissed the claimant’s case in its entirety but granted all the six prayers of the Ezekiel-Hart family members, who were the second set of defendants and counter-claimants in the case.
The court declared that Kom-Kom community is a separate and distinct community from any other community in Oyigbo, including Odugu Umuakpahu Cand stressed that the Ezekiel-Hart – family members were the true landowners and founders of Kom-Kom Community and entitled to the stool of Eze Kom-Kom or paramount rulership of the community by whatever name given.
Justice Chuku in the judgement, declared that the Ezekiel-Hart family was entitled to all the rights, privileges, compensations and royalties, as well as, benefits and entitlements naturally accruable to Kom-Kom as a community and therefore granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining Chief Azuh from parading himself as paramount ruler of the community.
According to her, “Chief S.N. Azuh whom the court found to be the Paramount Ruler of Odugu Community and not Kom-Kom, his agents” servants or privies should stop further interfering, obstructing or meddling with or usurping the rights and privileges of the Ezekiel-Hart family as the true landowners and founders of Kom-Kom Community”.
However, the court granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Chief Azuh from parading or holding out himself as the Paramount Ruler of Kom-Kom Community and awarded N500,000 as cost against the claimant.
Meanwhile, Head of Ezekiel-Hart family and second set of defendants in the suit, Chief Idasonye Ezekiel-Hart, has described the judgment as the will of God, which has prevailed against injustice, he expressed satisfaction and praised the judiciary for leaning on the side of justice, which he said, would promote and bring peace to Kom-Kom Community.
All efforts made by this reporter to reach the embattled paramount ruler of Kom-Kom Community, Chief S.N. Azuh and others for their comments on the judgment proved abortive as at the time of filing this report.
It will be recalled that the dispute over the ownership of Kom-Kom Community, in Oyigbo LGA for a long time now finally came to a climax in favour of the family of Ezekiel-Hart of Grand Bonny as real owners.