...Say UAC, Govt complicit in ‘fraudulent transaction’
The Ogodo and Eba families of Sapele, Delta State, have accused the state government of unlawfully taking over a vast expanse of land formerly occupied by the defunct African Timber and Plywood (ATP) Company, insisting the land is their ancestral property.
In a strongly worded statement, family representatives demanded that the Delta State Government immediately withdraw from the disputed property, which they described as “family land leased to ATP and not government property.”
Speaking with journalists in Sapele, the head of the Ogodo family, Pa Ancient Ogodo, said their ancestors leased the land, then known as Mclver, to a private company in 1902, with the agreement set to expire in 2001. “When the lease expired, instead of reverting to us, we saw the state government and our tenant, UAC, taking ownership of what rightfully belongs to us,” he said.
According to him, after Mclver’s liquidation, the lease passed to ATP and later to UAC in 1973. But in what the families described as a “criminal act,” UAC allegedly sold the property to the Delta State Government five days before the lease expired. “Tell me,” Pa Ogodo asked, “which tenant sells the property of his landlord? That transaction was fraudulent, and the government knows it.”
He accused the government of using security operatives to intimidate the families, describing it as “an abuse of power and gross disregard for the rule of law.” He further alleged that the government has “no valid title” to the land, citing court rulings that reaffirmed the families’ ownership rights.
To defend their claim, Pa Ogodo disclosed that the families have retained the law chambers of Festus Keyamo (SAN) to challenge what they termed “a forceful takeover” by the state. He referenced a Supreme Court judgment and another ruling delivered by Justice Breme on November 24, 2016, restraining the Delta State Government, its agents, and privies from encroaching on the property.
“We have no business with the government,” he maintained. “We can transact with individuals or corporate bodies, but not with the government. A tenant cannot sell the property of his landlord — and that’s exactly what UAC and the Delta Government have done.”
Supporting the claim, Engr. Bright Ebbah, another family representative, stated that the land in question “is not community land but family property.” He explained that upon the expiration of the lease, ownership automatically reverted to the Ogodo and Eba families.
Engr. Ebbah said the families had previously written to the state government, which acknowledged receipt of their letter and promised to meet with them after the general elections. “Instead of doing so,” he said, “the government went ahead to publish a notice claiming to have acquired the land — a deceitful and disrespectful act.”
“Delta State has no claim over the ATP property,” he declared. “We are calling on the governor to call his SSA on Security, Mr. Sunny Nwankego, to order. That land must be left alone.”
The families concluded with a warning that any further government interference would be resisted through legal means, insisting that the Ogodo and Eba families remain the rightful and court-recognised owners of the former ATP property in Sapele.
