The Supreme court has granted an order of injunction restraining the Federal Government and its agencies from ceding 17 oil wells located at Akri and Mgbedero, Imo state.
The order of injunction was granted to stop a purported implementation of the seeding of the two oil wells to Imo pending the determination of a suit brought before the apex court by the Rivers state government.
In a chamber ruling by the supreme court on an exparte application argued by Emmanuel Ukala, the supreme court ordered the Attorney General of the federation and the Attorney General of Imo State not to take further action on the ownership of the two oil wells till the ownership disputes are resolved.
The court also barred the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and the Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, and the office of the accountant general of the federation, from approving, implementing, or giving effect in any manner to a letter from the RMAFC office, with reference number RMC/O&G/47/1/264 of July 1, 2021, which canceled the equal sharing of proceeds from the oil wells by rivers and Imo state.
September 21, 2021, has been fixed for a hearing of the substantive matter.
In the suit, the Rivers state has challenged the AGF and the attorney general of Imo state before the supreme court seeking for a declaration that the boundary between Rivers state and Imo state, as delineated on Nigeria administrative map, 10, 11, and 12 editions and other maps bearing similar delineations are inaccurate and do not represent the legitimate and lawful boundaries between Rivers and Imo State.
Plaintiff also sought a declaration that all the oil wells within Akri and Mgbede communities are wrongly attributed to Imo state and that they are all oil wells within the territory of Rivers state and form part of Rivers State.
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Rivers State government is also saying only the state that is entitled to receive the full allocation of the distributable revenue from the oil wells on the basis of the 1390 derivation as contained under section 162 of the 1999 constitution.
Rivers State is also asking for an order of mandatory injunction directing the AGF to calculate, to its satisfaction, and refund to it all revenue that has been wrongly attributed to or paid to Imo state on account of the limit or extent of their territories, including earnings due to it from revenue derived from Akri and Mbede oil wells.
Rivers State also applied for another order of mandatory injunction directing AGF to produce an administrative map bearing the correct boundary between Rivers and Imo State, and award the sum of 500,000,000 nairas as cost.
(Editor: Abaje Usekwe)
