Beneficiaries of the government-owned cocoa estate in Etung Local Government Area (Etung cocoa farmers) have expressed confidence in the judiciary after a High Court issued an order restraining state agents from harassing them on their farms.
The farmers, who gathered at Bendeghe Ekiem community for a meeting with their legal representatives, said the ruling has given them hope that justice will prevail in the long-running dispute over the cocoa estate.
At the meeting, Barrister Emmanuel Orji, standing in for Mba Ukweni SAN, explained to community chiefs the legal weight of disobeying the court’s order. Though the gathering was briefly disrupted by some aggrieved members, Orji maintained his stance, stressing that the court’s injunction must be respected.
“I came to Bendeghe Ekiem at the instance of Mba Ukweni, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria who represented the interest of those put into those farms. Mba sent a letter to me attached with the order of the High Court of Etung. That order is an interlocutory order of injunction restraining every other person that is in the farms that were leased out by the government of Prof. Ben Ayade,” Orji said.
Speaking for the beneficiaries, Prof. Nchor Okorn expressed relief that the law had stepped in.
“I am a beneficiary of the cocoa allocation to legal legitimate beneficiaries. A couple of persons, including myself, have paid money which has been deposited to the state government account. Therefore, I feel entitled as a person, and other beneficiaries are entitled to enter their own farms,” he stated.
Supporting this, Ntufam Benjamin Asu Ndep, a member of the landlord committee and a signatory to the royalties account, confirmed the payments.
“I know that N37,000,000 was paid into that account, and N12,500,000 was paid to the various communities, of which Bendeghe Ekiem is one of them. The money was meant for royalties and rent. So the whole is about one hundred and something million Naira,” he disclosed.
Also speaking, Ntufam Mosses Ndep, chairman of the crisis management committee of the Mbume block of clans, urged community members to take the court order seriously.
“Unfortunately, as it appears to me, a lot are ignorant and seem to be taking the matter lightly as if it depends on their opinion. This very document is supposed to enlighten and not supposed to be debatable,” he said.
Meanwhile, some disputed beneficiaries who were allotted farms by the current administration refused to comment, saying they would make their position known after meeting with the government.
See court document below
