A fourteen-year-old rift on the traditional stool of Ogbogoro Community in Obio Akpor Local Government Area of the state was on Tuesday resolved, after a High Court sitting in Port Harcourt declared Chief Felix Amadi as the paramount ruler.
This follows the unrest of the Ogbogoro chieftaincy tussle and the land dispute between the family of Owhor Dike of Ehiozu family and Felix Amadi of the Rumukpalikwu-Ada families.
In his judgement, the presiding judge, Justice Adolphus Enebeli, declared Chief Felix Amadi as the paramount ruler of the Ogbogoro Community and head of the Rumukpalikwu-Ada family.
The judge also declared Chief Felix Amadi and members of his family as the rightful owners of the disputed land in the area, issuing a perpetual injunction restraining Owhor Dike and others who are claimants in the matter from interfering in the stool or the parcel of land.
Justice Enebeli said that the defendants had proved their case beyond reasonable doubt and awarded the sum of N500,000 against the claimants.
He further gave a window for those who built on the disputed land to renegotiate with the proclaimed owners, adding that those who bought land in the disputed area and developed it while the matter was in court were at the mercy of owners.
Speaking after the ruling, the paramount ruler of Ogbogoro Community, Chief Amadi, described the judiciary as the hope of the common man.
He explained that the judgment would help to restore peace, as the 14 years of legal battle had plagued the community with underdevelopment.
