No fewer than 100 employees of Nigerian
Ports Authority and their cronies in Cross River State were on Thursday
evicted from their official residences at Harbour Village, Ekorinim in
Calabar Municipal Council.
The eviction was sequel to a court
ruling ordering NPA to vacate the property belonging to a medical
practitioner in the state, Dr. Sama Ekpo Sama.
The action put to paid to the 38-year
legal battle between the NPA and Sama, who was brought back to Nigeria
from Switzerland in the early 70s by the then state government to help
develop the health sector.
Sama had in 1984 in the suit no. C/104/84 sued the authorities of NPA over the property measuring about 11.04 hectares.
The property was said to have been covered by Certificate of Occupancy No. CA/3837/93.
Justice U.J. Udofia after hearing from
the two parties on February 18, 1985, delivered a judgment in favour of
the plaintiff (Sama) as the rightful owner of the parcel of land and
property therein.
Sama, who was the Creditor/Applicant in
the suit, was said to have developed the said property into a Health
Farm Clinic and Resort Centre with various medical facilities.
But after obtaining the judgment, Sama
had taken many steps to enforce it but all to no avail as efforts were
allegedly made by highly placed personalities in the country to
frustrate its execution.
On June 4, 2009, another execution order
was issued by Justice S.M. Anjor to extend the time within which the
judgment Creditor/Applicant could execute it but the NPA went to Federal
High Court and also lost the case.
However, Sama filed a motion on notice
on August 8, 2012 to revalidate the execution order in suit No. HC/MSC.
180/2012, praying the court to extend the time within which to enforce
the 1985 judgment.
Sama in the motion also asked Justice B.
E. Ikpeme to grant him leave to apply for the issuance of execution
processes for the purpose of enforcing the judgment and any further
orders the court might deem fit.
Ikpeme in his ruling said, “After
hearing Mba Ukweni Esquire of Counsel for the judgment
Creditor/Applicant and I.E. Ikona Esquire of Counsel for the Judgment
Debtors/Respondents adopt their respective written addresses.
“It is hereby ordered that this
application be and is hereby granted and the orders are made as
specifically prayed in 1&2 of the Judgment Creditor/Applicant’s
motion paper.”
The Harbor village has 46 buildings with over 100 residents
