Rivers High Court Restrains Ibeto, Companies from Land in Port Harcourt 

The Rivers State High Court, Port Harcourt, presided by Justice Adolphus Enebeli, has restrained Cletus Ibeto and his group of companies, their servants, agents and privies from continuing to lay claim to Sungreen Oil and Gas Limited land registered as No. 37 at Page 37 in Volume 359 of the Lands Registry office in Port Harcourt measuring an area approximately 122 hectares situate at Niteco Shipyard layout, Reclamation Phase II, Port Harcourt, Rivers States.

 The judge in his judgment affirmed the validity of the Deed of Assignment registered as No. 37 at Page 37 in Volume 359 of the Lands Registry office in Port Harcourt executed between Nigeria Technical Company Limited (Niteco) and Sungreen Oil and Gas Limited, a subsidiary of Dozzy.

The court further ordered Ibeto to refund the sum of N3,295,000,000 being the sum received in naira for the failed land transaction, while maintaining that the $3,000,000 given to Ibeto by Dozzy was not given as part of the payment for the purchase of the land.

In what appeared to contradict the judgment given in favour of Dozzy and its group of companies, the court also affirmed Ibeto’s right to Statutory Right of Occupancy over the property within Reclamation Road Layout at Bundu Ama Community with a cumulative area of 22.6536 hectares, the subject of a Deed of Sub-lease dated  March 19, 2010 and registered as No. 47 at Page 47 in Volume 280 of the Lands Registry office in Port Harcourt.

It also granted an injunction restraining Dozzy Oil and Gas from trespassing into the piece of land measuring 22.6536 hectares, which forms part of the piece and parcel of land registered as No. 43 at Page 43 in Volume 6 of the Lands Registry office in Port Harcourt.

The injunction granted in favour of Ibeto and his group of companies in respect of 22.6536 hectares of land subdivided from and forming part of all that piece of land registered as No. 43 at Page 43 in Volume 6 of the Lands Registry Office has continued to puzzle legal observers and commentators alike, as the land registered as No. 43/43/6 in the Lands Registry between NITECO and its subsidiary company, Nigeria Shipbuilders Limited, is a sub-lease of 40acres (16 hectares).

While the court granted an injunction over 22 hectares of lands in favour of Ibeto predicating the grant on a title document covering only 16 hectares of land, that was parcellated by Nigerian Shipbuilders Limited and sub-leased to various other companies inclusive of Ibeto, it granted a lease of 7.8 hectares by Nigeria Shipbuilders from the original grant of 16 hectares, which it got from NITECO.