SAN Inaugurates Team To Obey Court Ruling On Cocoa Estate

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and chief executive  officer (CEO)  Mba Ukweni Chambers  has inaugurated a task force called “Team Obey Court Order” to safeguard cocoa farmers’ right and bring back sanity at the Government Cocoa Estate in Etung local government area, Cross River State.

The  team inaugurated  yesterday, according to him, is to assist in the enforcement of subsisting court ruling on the estate to ensure that farmers respect a court order that restrains the state government from evicting allottees from their cocoa farms.

Ukweni urged the team to sensitise and enlighten farmers on the need to respect the court order.

Ukweni, counsel to the allottees, stated that the court had passed an interlocutory injunction in favour of the allottees, restraining the state government and its agents from evicting them from their legitimate cocoa farms.

He said that government couldn’t forcefully evict the allottees from their farmlands after collecting money from them to settle royalties owed to cocoa landlords’ communities for about 16 years.

He urged the team to discharge their duties peacefully without violence and report anyone disobeying the court order to the appropriate authorities.

“Your activities have to be peaceful and orderly, don’t resort to violence,” he said.

Ukweni read the terms of reference guiding the taskforce’s operations, which include placing affected cocoa farms under surveillance, identifying offenders, and bringing them to justice.

The taskforce is expected to encourage farmers and other beneficiaries to possess their farmlands in line with the agreement they entered into with the government.

Meanwhile defaulters of the court order have been served with forms 48 and 49, warning them of impending consequences.

Ukweni maintained that the government cannot go against an agreement it entered into with the allottees, and that the court order must be obeyed.

“Court made an order restraining the government from evicting beneficiaries, and we set up this team ‘Obey Court Order’ to ensure compliance,” he said.