The Delta State government has been charged with violating a valid court order after the State Ministry of Urban Renewal demolished homes.
The homes of physician Dr. Prosper Orezimena and his neighbour, Pa. India Osanebi, were demolished in spite of an experte application filed at the State High Court in Effurun on May 22, 2024.
Orezimena, the victim, said that a PDP chieftain was responsible for the demolition and said that the politician had previously threatened to use his compound to reach his home.
“An order of interim injunction restraining the Defendants jointly and severally, their servants, agents, privies or otherwise, whosoever from demolishing, pulling down, destroying or doing anything contrary to the interest of the Applicant with regard to the Applicant property at No. 1. Airaboyi Close, off Jesus is Lord Street, off Refinery Road, Effurun, Uvwie local government area of Delta State, Nigeria pending the determination of the Motion on Notice,” was what the victims had prayed the court for.
On May 24, 2024, His Lordship, the Honourable Justice R.D. Harriman (Mrs.) Judge of High Court No. 2, Effurun, granted the applicant’s requested relief.
The victims produced court documentation proving Orezimena and Osanebi’s acquisition of an interim injunction.
According to records, on May 29, 2024, the order was served to the Ministry and the other defendants.
However, the building was demolished by the state government on June 20, 2024, without giving the residents a time to remove their possessions, through the Ministry of Land & Survey and the Ministry of Urban Renewal.
Speaking to reporters, Orezimena recounted his story and mentioned that the Ministry of Urban Renewal had sent him notifications in February telling him to stop renovating.
“I was just updating the appearance of my property. It struck me as odd that they sought to discontinue such innocuous labour.
Additionally, the notifications required the submission of designs, which were correctly and compliantly sent to them.
But the Ministry reappeared in May, threatening to demolish.
“In a blatant show, Ministry representatives oversaw the June 20th bulldozing of the properties in defiance of the injunction.
“I was horrified to see the structure I had saved up to build destroyed by machines. “It hurt so much,” Orezimena remembered.
Witnesses said that Ministry employees confiscated phones from bystanders and interfered with recordings.
Orezimena states: “On June 21, 2024, another bulldozer arrived. A police officer on the move even fired a shot at my employee, fortunately missing.
They’re threatening to make me give up on the lawsuit. Men with connections to the ministry forcibly retrieved the victim’s phone and erased any proof.
Such heinous deeds amount to disrespect for the court. I think it was started by a powerful neighbour who wants to take the land—a leader of the state’s ruling party.
He has been causing us problems for quite some time. They are now using intimidation to further his objectives.
“Justice must not only be carried out, but also obviously carried out.
“We’re still looking into it. The doctor claimed, “All I want is for those who destroyed my property and career to face the full weight of the law.”
Michael Anoka, the Commissioner of the Ministry of Urban Renewal, denied knowing of any court order when approached.
