Don't Displace 20,000 Citizens, Court Orders Nigerian Govt

A HIGH Court in Rivers State, one of Nigeria's key oil and gas blocks, has ordered Governor Chibuike Amaechi, who is also the Chair of the country's Governors' Forum, to stop his administration's planned eviction of over 20,000 citizens living at the Abonema Waterfront axis of Port Harcourt, the state capital city.

Before this reprieve came the way of the affected citizens, the Amaechi administration had marked the waterfront community for the bulldozers to reduce to rubbles.

A reporter of AkanimoReports said on Monday that Governor Amaechi has been defying human rights groups' pressure to spare the community, insisting that it is a festering nest of ''criminals'' who have been disturbing the peace of the state.

But the state High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, on Monday issued an order of interim injunction against the Rivers State Government (RSG) after hearing an exparte application brought by a civil society group, the Social and Economic Rights Action Center (SERAC).

The interim order that was granted by Justice S.C Amadi, restrained the state government and its agents, privies and officials from evicting and demolishing the homes, businesses, churches, schools and livelihoods of the Abonema Wharf community residents in Port Harcourt, until the substantive suit is heard and determined on its merits.

SERAC filed the substantive suit, JIM TOM GEORGE Vs RSG (Suit No: PHC/2286/2009) in November 2009, on behalf of the Abonema Wharf community.

This order however, became necessary in light of the renewed efforts by the Amaechi administration to demolish waterfront communities without an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, and in a seeming contravention of the state’s own laws and policies, particularly the provisions of the Rivers State Physical Planning and Urban Development Law 2003.

SERAC's Programme Co-ordinator, Victoria Ohaeri, argued in an on-line statement to LEADERSHIP, ''if carried out, the demolitions would leave over 20,000 people homeless, and push them deeper into poverty''.

According to the group, ''the neigbouring community, Njemanze was demolished in August 2009 in a brash demolition exercise that displaced over 10,000 families, especially women and children''.

Among other declaratory reliefs in the substantive suit, SERAC is praying the court to declare that the state government’s scheduled demolition of Abonema Wharf community and the impending forced eviction of its residents without recourse to statutory safeguards, constitute massive violations of human rights, especially the rights to property, privacy, housing, human dignity, health and life, all of which are guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The suit is also challenging the state government’s "private property buy-out scheme", under which landlords were to be paid some value for their properties that would then be pulled down to accommodate a private business owned by the Silverbird Group of Companies.

''Ordinarily, this seems fair except that landlords had no choice in the matter. It was fait accompli. The landlords that objected had no opportunity to opt out of the buy-out programme. Refusal to accept the offer meant that the landlords would lose everything. It was a take it or leave it situation'', the group said.

Continuing, they said, ''rather than furnish a justifiable legal or public interest purpose for its actions, the state government merely labeled the threatened communities as hideouts and haven for 'agents of cultism, violence and criminality'. This has become standard modality for states to engage in blackmail and negative branding in their efforts to justify illegality and unwillingness to abide by decent and democratic norms''.

It appears, the court order represents a significant step forward in the community’s quest for housing justice, and reinforces confidence in the judiciary as the last bastion of hope for the common man. ENDS

ENDS

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