Tension in Abia community over alleged disobedience of court order

AGITATION by the youths of Lokpaukwu Umuchieze community in Ummnneochi Council Area of Abia State is grad­ually building tension in the area. The cause of the tension, which is threaten­ing the peace of the state and the granite-rich com­munity, is the alleged dis­obedience of a court order by two mining companies.

A visit to the communi­ty last Friday revealed the youths were spoiling for war over the alleged dis­obedience to the Federal High Court Order, which stopped the two mining firms, Asphalt Unity Con­struction Limited, a Leba­nese company and Pioneer Sinochino Investment Venture Limited, a Chi­nese company from oper­ating at the Aguokeakpu quarry land of Amaubiri/ Umutu in the community.

Meanwhile, leaders and major stakeholders in the community have urged the Assistant Inspector General of Police to wade into the matter and en­sure the court order was obeyed to avoid break­down of law and order.

Trouble started follow­ing disagreement between the 35 landowners of the mining field and the two mining firms, over which of them has the legal right of mining the particular site, which led to the mat­ter being taken to court.

As a result, Justice F. A. Olubanjo of the Fed­eral High Court, Umua­hia, in his ruling in the application, ordered that the parties maintain the status quo. He went fur­ther to explain that the or­der meant that “whatever acts have been completed remain so until this court otherwise so order.”

The youths, who spear­headed the agitation, said they had observed that Pi­oneer Sinochino had been flouting the court order by operating on the site despite the court order.

They alleged that the company entered the dis­puted area from an ad­joining land and had been mining stones and granite despite the court order.

Confronted with the allegation of flouting court order, Public Rela­tions Officer of Pioneer Sinochino, Arinze Nwa­for, denied his firm was flouting the court order. Throwing more light on the matter, Nwafor said the court order stated that status quo be main­tained, and that they were already operating in the disputed area before the order, hence they were still within the order.

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