The Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar, Cross River state has ruled in a protracted land dispute involving two local government areas of Akwa Ibom in which no fewer than five persons were killed and properties destroyed since 2017.
Two communities – Ifa Ikot Akpan in Uyo Local Government Area and Ibiaku Ishiet in Uruan Local Government Area led by their traditional rulers, Etteidung Edem Aniedi Ebong and Chief William Effiong Etim, had been locked in the land tussle in the last three years, forcing the matter to be taken to the Uyo Division of the High Court.
The matter was however dismissed by Justice Charles Ikpe, “for lack of merit” and subsequently, the case was moved to Appeal, where Justice Hamma Akawu Barka, faulted the decision of the High Court in dismissing the case as filed by Etteidung Ebong and others of Ifa Ikot Akpan community.
Delivering the ruling on the case: CA\C\342\2019, the three man Appeal panel led by Justice Barka, noted that “the lowered court erred in rejecting the document tendered by the appellants, which was not objected and countered by the defendants in efforts to disprove it throughout the period of the trial”.
He, therefore, ruled that “all the parcel of land which presently makes up the keke motor park, in the area that the claimants earlier leased to Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Limited, to serve as burrow pit together with its appurtenances lying and situate at Ifa Ikot Akpan village, Etoi, Uyo, Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom state, belongs to the claimants, now appellants, having been in lawful possession of same ever since time immemorial”, part of the ruling reads.
For taking possession of the land for the couple of years, the defendants, Chief Etim and others of Ibiaku Ishiet community in Uruan Local Government Area, the Judge held, would refund the sum of 10 million to the appellants as general damages incurred during the period.
Commending the ruling, the monarch, Etteidung Ebong, said “my confidence in Nigeria’s judicial system has been restored”, recalling that he was under serious threat by the defendants, who assumed overwhelming powers to win the case based on connections he has with key politicians in the state.
“The judgment is a welcome development because total peace will now return to the affected communities and normal businesses restored”, he added.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
