THE Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt has struck out Federal Government's motion for stay of execution of the judgment ordering it to pay N37.6 billion in compensation to the victims of the Odi massacre.
Justice E. Eko said the decision to strike out the application was based on government's intention to settle the matter out of court with the Odi community of Bayelsa State, which was completely destroyed by rampaging soldiers in 1999.
According to the judge, counsel to the President and Chief of Defence Staff, Mrs. Akolika Awa, had filed a motion on March 15, 2013, praying for an order of stay of execution of the judgment delivered on February 19, 2013, in FHC/PHC/CP/11/2000.
Awa had withdrawn the motion because the Federal Government was exploiting out-of-court settlement with the community. She explained that there had been two botched attempts for the community to meet with government officials but it was not possible because the Federal Attorney General had been engaged in other state matters.
She noted that a letter was written on April 30, 2013, for the out-of-court settlement, which should take place within the next seven days. To this end, she said, the motion was not complete and competent and so had to be withdrawn.
Counsel to Odi community, Lucius Nwosu (SAN), who led Lawal Rabana (SAN) and Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), raised no objection to the withdrawal. To this end, Justice Eko said the motion, having been withdrawn, is struck out and the parties encouraged to settle out of court.
It will be recalled that 12 years ago, the military invaded Odi in Bayelsa State with wanton destruction of lives and property. Irked by the invasion, some indigenes of Odi, in a class suit No.FHC/PH/CP/11/2000 by Prof. Kobina Keme-Ebi Imananagha, Chief Ndu Gwagha, Chief Shadrack Agadah, Mr. Idoni Ingezi and Mr. Nwaka Echomgbe, sued the Federal Government and demanded over N20 billion in compensation.
The plaintiffs had urged the court to declare that the invasion of Odi and attendant assault, battery, maiming, shelling, shootings, cold-blooded murder of Odi indigenes and the destruction of their property by the Nigerian Armed Forces under the command of the President, was tantamount to gross violation of the people's fundamental human rights to life, dignity and personal liberty.
They also argued that the deployment of troops by the President and on the order of the Chief of Defence Staff, which led to the wanton destruction of lives and property of the people of Odi, was a gross misuse of the power vested in the state.
Justice Lambo Akambi of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, while delivering judgment on the matter, described the action of the military as genocidal, brutish, reckless and gross violation of the rights of the victims to life and property.
He stated that the judgment was predicated on the need to curb the excesses of the executive and to send a clear message that the days of tyranny was gone and gone forever.
Justice Akambi, who said the destruction of Odi was comprehensive and total, as nothing was spared by the soldiers, ordered that a special damage of N17,618,871 and general damage of N20 billion respectively be paid to the community as compensation.
He also issued a perpetual injunction restraining the respondents and their agents from invading Odi and bombing the place again.
The Guardian