A Zamfara State High Court has ordered the detention of a trailer load of tractors, pending the determination of its ownership.
The presiding judge, Justice Bello Shinkafi, gave the order after an oral application was tendered by the lead counsel to Duburum Nigeria Limited, that there was a trailer load of tractors written Zamfara tractors, along the Gada Biyu Area of Gusau metropolis.
He wanted the court and both parties involved in the matter to inspect the said trailer since it was alleged that the 58 tractors which were part of property to sell to satisfy a debt, were set to be sold by the state government.
The counsel to the complainant also asked the court to order the detention of the tractors pending proper enquiry and determination of the real ownership.
The presiding judge, Justice Bello Shinkafi and both parties in the case and journalists went to the location where the trailer load of the tractors was said to have parked.
After conducting the inspection, the judge ordered the tractors be brought to the premises of the court until the real owner is determined, and requested the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources produce evidence within two days that the tractors are not part of the controversial debt.
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The court had summoned the Zamfara State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources to appear before it and give reasons for not producing and to making the whereabouts of the tractors known.
The commissioner was however absent in court on Wednesday but counsel to the State Government told the court that the Commissioner was attending the 45th Regular Meeting of the Council of Agriculture and Rural Development in Jos, Plateau State.
The Lead Counsel to the complainant, John Isiaka, said the Wednesday court proceedings were for the Zamfara State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources to explain why the tractors, seized by the court to satisfy the debt, were sold to another party.
Duburum Nigeria Limited supplied motorcycles to the Zamfara State Government and after not and after not receiving payment, instituted a suit in which the court ruled in its favour.
The case has been adjourned to the 28th of September.
Editor Oloyede Oworu
