Supreme Court Rules In Favour Of Rivers Against Imo On Disputed Oil Wells

The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Rivers state over the disputed 17 oil wells with Imo state and has ended the political arrangement on the sharing of revenue.

 

In its verdict delivered on Friday, the Supreme court decided that the oil wells located in Ndoni and Egbema communities belong to Rivers State.

 

The  Court ruling has  put an end to the equal sharing of the revenue from the oil wells with everything now going to Rivers.

 

There was previously a political arrangement put in place by the federal government for the revenue from the disputed wells to be shared equally between the two states.

 

However, when Emeka Ihedioha became governor in 2019, a presidential memo directed that all the revenue should go to Imo.

 

The Rivers state government swiftly filed a suit against the presidential directive.

 

 

 

The Supreme Court, had February 2022 fixed May 6 for judgment in the legal battle between Rivers and Imo states over the ownership of 17 oil wells in their territories.

 

The apex court fixed the date after taking arguments from lawyers to the parties.

 

Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who led a panel of justices of the apex court, fixed the date after the adoption of the final written addresses by the lawyers.

 

The plaintiff in the matter, represented by a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Joseph Daudu (SAN), while adopting his final address, asked the apex court to give judgment in favour of Rivers State on the grounds that historical evidence right from 1927 till date clearly indicated that the oil wells belongs to the state.