The federal high Court Abuja has ordered that the ‘controversial’ Soku oil field be transfered from Bayelsa to Rivers state.
While delivering judgment in the oil field suit instituted by Rivers Government against the Attorney-General of Bayelsa and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Justice Inyang Ekwo, held that the oil well belonged to Rivers state.
While delivering judgment in the suit on Monday, Justice Ekwo held: “Transfer Soku oil field to Rivers state, its rightful owner”,
Ekwo held further that the National Boundary Commission, (NBC) should rectify the error in its 11th Edition of Administrative Map which designated San Bartholomew River as the boundary between the two states, instead of River Santa Barbara.
In his submission, Counsel to the Rivers state government had submitted that the error occurred in the 11th Edition of the Administrative Map produced by the NBC in 2002.
Meanwhile, the NBC was said to have admitted its mistake in a letter dated July 3, 2002 in response to Rivers Government’s protest and had promised to rectify it in the 12th edition of the administrative map.
But when the NBC failed to rectify the mistake as promised, Rivers government went and filed a suit at the Supreme Court in 2009.
Subsequently, the apex court in 2012 ruled in favour of Rivers and ordered that the error be rectified.
When by August the mistake had yet to be corrected, the Rivers government was again compelled to institute a suit at the Federal High Court against the NBC.
In the suit, it sought for an order of mandamus compelling the NBC to correct the error.
The judge ordered the commission to immediately produce the 12th edition of the Administrative Map restoring River Santa Barbara as the inter-state boundary between the two states.
This, he said was as it was in 1996 when Bayelsa was carved from Rivers.
He added that the commission was duty-bound to obey the July 10, 2012 judgment of the Supreme Court which had affirmed River Santa Barbara as the boundary between the states.
This is done by immediately correction of its self-admitted error of designating River San Bartholomew as the boundary.
The judge further ordered that the judgment served on relevant statutory bodies, especially, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission and the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
He said this was for them to immediately recomputed the amount of oil revenue accruable to Rivers with the transfer of the Soku oil field to the state.
