Obi Cubana acquired Asaba land lawfully, title properly transferred — Lawyer
The solicitor to the Ogbe-Ozoma Community, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has declared that the land being developed in Asaba, Delta State, by Cubana Group was lawfully acquired and is not subject to
The solicitor to the Ogbe-Ozoma Community, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has declared that the land being developed in Asaba, Delta State, by Cubana Group was lawfully acquired and is not subject to any court judgment.
Speaking at a press briefing in Asaba yesterday, Ejiofor dismissed claims by counsel to Isele-Azagba that the property is covered by a consent judgment, describing the allegations as misleading and unsupported by facts.
He maintained that the land forms part of the ancestral inheritance of the Ogbe-Ozoma Community in Oshimili North Local Government Area and was validly sold to Cubana Group, with title duly transferred in compliance with the law.
According to him, the land has never been under dispute or litigation, and no legal action was pending before, during, or after the transaction.
He added that Cubana Group fulfilled all statutory requirements under the Land Use Act and was granted a Certificate of Occupancy.
Ejiofor said the clarification became necessary following a viral video alleging unlawful sale of the land, insisting the development process has been transparent from the outset.
The land purportedly referred to in the alleged consent judgment by counsel to Issele Azagba relates to an entirely different parcel of land, which remains the subject of litigation in Suit No. HCI/23/2021 pending before Onicha Ugbo High court, Issele-Uku Judicial Division.
The Cubana Group lawyer asserted: "We are counsel in that matter and can unequivocally confirm that it concerns a separate and distinct property.
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"It is particularly instructive that the same counsel now publicly asserting the existence of a consent judgment in favour of Issele Azagba, with respect to a property whose particulars and location are known to him to be entirely different in size and description, had previously acted for our client, the Ogbe-Ozoma Community, as defence counsel in the same matter wherein that purported consent judgment was procured.
"During the pendency of suit No. HCI/5/2012, the said counsel ostensibly connived with the then counsel for Issele Azagba to fabricate and file purported terms of settlement that were never brought to the attention of, nor authorised by, our client—the Ogbe-Ozoma Community, whom he represented at the time.
“It is our client’s position that certain signatures of persons unknown to the community, and in some instances not even parties to the suit, were forged, and that the document was surreptitiously filed and pronounced upon with unusual speed on the same morning it was filed in court as a consent judgment, without our client’s knowledge, consent, or participation in the proceedings of that day.
"Upon discovery of the circumstances under which the said consent judgment was obtained, on land entirely different from the one presently sold to Cubana Group, our client promptly initiated appropriate legal processes to have the judgment set aside on grounds of fraud and fundamental procedural irregularities.
"It is equally noteworthy that upon being debriefed by the Ogbe-Ozoma Community, the same counsel, Bar. Larry Olise proceeded almost immediately to institute further civil action on behalf of Issele Azagba seeking to enforce the said disputed consent judgment against our client.
"Our client has since taken decisive steps to report this conduct, considered unprofessional and unbecoming of a legal practitioner, to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) for appropriate investigation and disciplinary action.
"In summary, the land presently being developed by Cubana Group is free from any encumbrance, lien, or adverse claim. The attempt to associate it with unrelated litigation or a disputed consent judgment is misleading, defamatory, and calculated to cause confusion."
He urged members of the public to disregard such statements, which appear to be orchestrated in furtherance of ulterior motives.
Also speaking, the spokesperson for the Ogbe-Ozoma Community, in Okpanam, Chief Felix Okafor, explained that the Okpanam community has no land issues with the Issele-Azagba community.
He said the Issele-Azagba community is a tenant to their community, adding that it was their forefathers who gave the Issele-Azagba community for farm settlement, and it is very funny seeing them dragging our land with us.
The Okpanam community is said to have sold the land to Cubana Group in 2019, and the state government was present.
