There will be pretrial conference on a disputed land case involving claimants and defendants on January 18.
The presiding judge of Port-Harcourt High Court, Honourable Justice S. H. Aprioku, announced the pretrial conference on Monday after hearing.
The Nsumide/Adaoru land dispute is between claimant Mr Fabulous Amaewhule and others and defendants.
On Monday, the honourable judge took motions for joinder from counsels who had sought to join their clients as defendants, and ruled on the motions.
There are over six sets of defendants involved in the case.
The claimants are Mr Fabulous Amaewhule, Mr Oluchukwu Amaewhule and Mr Ezihuo Opara for themselves and as representatives of Mbodo Community, Aluu, in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The disputed land is on Tam David West Boulevard, a stretch of road from the Airport Roundabout to the Obiri Ikwerre Intercharge in Port-Harcourt.
However, there is a standing order by the court which restrains the claimants and defendants from trespassing on the land pending determination of motion brought by counsel to second set of defendants, Patrice Ukposi.
Ukposi had said that his clients had bought the disputed land from Omuchinwo Group of Families in Mbodo Community, Aluu, in Ikwerre Local Government Area saying they had been in possession of the disputed land for five years before it was trespassed.
The second set of defendants in the suit include Dr. Moses Bakpo, Mr Victor Ossai and Mr Independence Enyidah and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), in Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic.
On Monday, the counsel for claimants was in court as well as the counsel for the second, fifth and first set of defendants.
The judge had earlier on frowned on the use of police by parties in the suit after it was learnt work had been done on the disputed land with the help of police.
Justice Aprioku had said he would not share “judicial powers” with police and had appealed to counsels to advise clients not to get the police involved in the case.
The pretrial conference will bring together parties in the suit with judge in charge of the case before actual trial.
