Extracts From The Particulars of Fraud committed Against The Escravos People And A Nonchalant Government In The Aquisition of Land For The Escravos PhaseII Gas Project (The indirect cause of the elimination of of Mr SAK Metseagharun)

There was no duly registered Conveyance and/or Deed of Assignment between the 1st Defendant and/or credible, authentic and duly authorised members of the Ugborodo Community conveying and/or assigning the aforesaid parcel of land to the 1st Defendant.

Strangely, and quite on the contrary, by a letter dated 29/03/99, and captioned "Deed of Assignment in Respect of Land For Escravos Phase II Gas Project", the 5th Defendant purportedly acting as the Chairman of an illegal "Interim Committee" of the Ugborodo Community Trust, informed the 1st and 2nd Defendants to "…please find enclosed the above document duly executed by the representatives and elders of the Ugborodo Community." The Plaintiff will again rely at the trial on the said letter dated 29/03/2001. Notice is again hereby given to the 1st and 2nd Defendants to produce same as well as the Deed of Assignment purportedly executed by the representatives of the elders of Ugborodo Community.

The consideration paid for the alleged assignment was not publicly known and/or stated to allow the Board of Inland Revenue to properly access and/or demand payments for property tax and allied taxes.

Since there was a "Deed of Assignment" in respect of the aforesaid acquisition., the 1st Defendant was obliged by law to first apply for the Consent of the Governor in respect of the transaction before applying for Certificate of Occupancy. The Plaintiff hereby pleads and relies on section s 21, 22 and 26 of the Land Use Act Cap. 202, Laws of the Federation, 1990.

Consequent upon the averments in the preceding paragraphs hereof, the Deed of Assignment and/or the said Certificate of Occupancy are null and void in law.

By applying straight for Certificate of Occupancy instead of Consent of the Governor of Delta State, the first Defendant acting through the 2nd-4th Defendants intentionally defrauded Delta State of the then mandatory 10% property tax on such transactions. Instead, it simply paid a scandalous sum of about N184,000.00 (one hundred and eighty four thousand Naira) and above.

From the aforesaid amount of stamp duties paid by the 1st Defendant it would seem that the minimum consideration for the assignment ranges from N12,000,000.00 (twelve million Naira) and above.

Thus 10% of N12,000,000.00 (twelve million Naira) is N1,200,000.00 (one million two hundred thousand Naira). This is the mandatory minimum property tax which the 1st Defendant acting through 2nd-4th Defendants have defrauded the state of.

The Certificate of Occupancy No. DTSR 1528 dated 19/05/1999 and purportedly registered as No. 32 at page 32 in Vol. CO. 24, strangely has no commencement date.

Thus the aforesaid Certificate of Occupancy is null and void in law as the date for calculating the commencement of the alleged 99 years is non-existent.

The common seal of the 1st Defendant is not affixed to the execution clause as mandatory required by law.

In the unlikely event that the first Defendant contends that it acquired the aforesaid parcel of land through State Public Land Acquisition Law (Vol 5, Laws of Defunct Bendel State 1976 now applicable to Delta State), same is of no effect as there was no six weeks mandatory notice in a Gazette or two newspapers circulating within the jurisdiction. Above all, the aforesaid acquisition was not for public purpose since the 1st Defendant is entirely a private profit-making company operating in Nigeria.

Even though the 1st Defendant purportedly acquired the said land without paying consideration for same (as it fraudulently purported to do), it nethertheless paid the sum of N5,000,000.00 (five million Naira) as a questionable "ex-gratia" payment to the 5th Defendant and his cohorts barely two days after being issued with the aforesaid Certificate of Occupancy.

On 19th May 1999 when the said Certificate of Occupancy was allegedly signed by the erstwhile Military Administrator and purportedly witnessed by the Acting Director of Lands, the entire staff of Delta State Civil Service (including those of the lands registry0 were on strike.

If the 1st-4th Defendants had nothing to hide, why were they in such a hurry? First, an illegal "Interim Committee" was set up on or about 17/12/1998 immediately after the Plaintiffs late father was murdered and buried. Secondly, the alleged "Interim Committee" almost immediately on 26/02/1999 approved the aforesaid acquisition by executing a "deed of Assignment" on 29/03/1999; then 1st-4th Defendants ridiculously acquired a Certificate of Occupancy on 19/05/1999, barely ten days to our Democracy. Then again on 21/05/1999 barely two days after acquiring the fraudulent Certificate of Occupancy, the 1st-4th Defendants made ex-gratia payment of N5,000,000.00 (five million Naira) to the 5th Defendant. It is really puzzling that all these difficult and cumbersome obstacles including surveying, negotiation, acquisition, execution and obtaining of a Certificate of Occupancy were achieved in a record time of two and a half months.

The reason for this breakneck speed is Res Ipsa Liquitur from the several true averments contained herein, especially 10,44, 45 and 46 of the Statement of Claim.

The 1st Defendant did not comply with the relevant laws before purporting to acquire the aforesaid parcel of land

An order setting aside the purported issuance of Certificate of Occupancy No DTSR 1528 dated 19/05/1999 and purportedly registered as NO. 32 at page 32 in Vol. CO. 24 on the grounds of fraudulent misrepresentation and/or failure to disclose material facts to the issuing authority.

A declaration that in so far as the aforesaid Occupancy bears no commencement date, same is null, void and of no effect in law.

A perpetual injunction restraining the 1st-4th Defendants by themselves, privies and/or agents from doing anything whatsoever in any capacity either directly and/or indirectly on the aforesaid piece or parcel of land which belongs to the entire Ugborodo Community.

O. Ohimor Esq.