The Ogbeozoma Quarters of Okpanam in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State has debunked the deliberate misrepresentation of the court ruling in suit no: Aku/118/2025.
The suit involved Chief Felix Okafor and others versus Pastor Agba Arinze and others
According to a statement signed by the Counsel to the Ogbe-Ozoma Quarters of Okpanam Kingdom, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor (Esq), the clarification on the court ruling has become imperative, as an officer of the Court and in faithful discharge of his professional responsibility to both the administration of justice and the public, to correct the deliberate distortion, misrepresentation, and false narrative being circulated regarding the ruling recently delivered in Suit No. AKU/118/2025.
He noted that the integrity of judicial proceedings demands that court decisions be reported with fidelity and not manipulated to score transient propaganda victories or mislead unsuspecting members of the public.
For the avoidance of doubt, the claim instituted in Suit No. AKU/118/2025 was commenced by Chief Felix Okafor and other members of the Ogbe-Ozoma Quarters of Okpanam Kingdom, who approached the Court seeking judicial intervention over the violation of their proprietary interests in their extensive ancestral Osonkwe Communal Land, which they contend was unlawfully trespassed upon by Pastor Emma Agba Arinze and Ekwe-Ogidi Integrated Resources Limited, he said.
Sir Okafor said upon being served with the originating processes, counsel representing the Pastor Agba Arinze of Issele-Azagba raised a preliminary objection, contending that the facts, issues, and subject matter of the action were inextricably intertwined with those already pending before the High Court in Suit No. HCI/23/2021, between: Obi Emma Okocha & Ors. (for themselves and on behalf of the people of Ogbe-Ozoma Quarters of Okpanam Kingdom), and Pastor Emma Agba Arinze & Ors. (for themselves and on behalf of the people of Issele-Azagba Quarters).
Sir Okafor said the earlier action principally challenges the validity of what the Plaintiffs contend is a fraudulently procured Consent Judgment, together with the far-reaching legal consequences flowing therefrom.
Having heard comprehensive arguments from learned counsel on both sides, the Court held that the issues raised in Suit No. AKU/118/2025 could not be conveniently isolated from those already pending determination in Suit No. HCI/23/2021. Consequently, the learned trial Judge declined jurisdiction to entertain a parallel adjudication of matters substantially connected with the pending proceedings before the High Court, directing instead that the issues be resolved within the framework of the earlier suit, Sir Okafor clarified.
He pointed out that it is of utmost importance to emphasize that the Court did not pronounce on the merits of the substantive claims before it. The Court neither received evidence nor evaluated competing claims of ownership. More significantly, the Court made no declaration whatsoever regarding title, ownership, possessory rights, or proprietary interests over the land in dispute.
Any suggestion to the contrary is patently false, grossly misleading, and constitutes a calculated misrepresentation of the clear and unambiguous ruling delivered by the Court, he said.
In his words “It is, therefore, regrettable that certain persons have allegedly chosen to misinform the people of Issele-Azagba by falsely portraying the ruling as though it amounted to a judicial determination affirming title or ownership in their favour. Such a narrative finds absolutely no support in the ruling of the Court and is capable only of creating unnecessary tension, fostering false expectations, and undermining public confidence in the administration of justice”
“The authentic and authoritative account of what transpired is contained exclusively in the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Court’s ruling. We respectfully urge all well-meaning members of the public, particularly the people of Issele-Azagba, to rely on the actual contents of the ruling rather than on embellished interpretations or self-serving commentaries designed to distort the judicial record”
For the record, Suit No. HCI/23/2021, pending before the High Court Onicha Ugbo, wherein the alleged fraudulently procured Consent Judgment in suit No HCi/5/2012 is being vigorously challenged, has since been reactivated, and the Court has assigned a definite hearing date for the commencement of trial on the merits.
It is in that substantive proceeding, and not through public misinformation, that the competing rights and claims of the respective parties shall be judicially examined and determined upon credible evidence and settled principles of law.
We remain unwavering in our confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the Nigerian Judiciary and respectfully urge all parties to refrain from actions or publications capable of prejudicing pending proceedings or misleading members of the public.
The rule of law is never advanced by propaganda. It is vindicated only by truth, evidence, and the solemn pronouncements of competent courts of law, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, Esq, clarified.
