AN Asaba-based legal practitioner, Peter Lotobi, Esq., has asserted that illegal ceding on lands on the boundary dispute between Ibusa and Ogwashi-Uku communities of Delta State will amount to a violation of court judgments.
He pleaded with Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to call the office of the State Surveyor –General to order to avoid such violation that could trigger unrest and further legal tussles.
In a letter to the Governor captioned: “Re: Boundary Issue between Ibusa and Ogwashi-Uku: The Manipulations of Surveyor –General of Delta State”, dated 9th September, 2025 and signed by Barr. Peter .U. Lotobi, he accused the Office of the Surveyor –General of allegedly working tirelessly to influence the state government to issue a white paper ceding parts of Ezemese community land in Ibusa to Ogwashi-Uku in clear violation of Supreme Court judgment on the matter.
According to Lotobi,despite the fact that both the state High Court and the Court of Appeal have in unmistakable terms decided that the boundary between Ibusa and Ogwashi-Uku remained at Ubu Stream and same judgment upheld by the Supreme Court in SC.32/1985, the Office of the Surveyor- General was hell bent on recommending to the state government that the Nigerian Army Barracks along Ibusa/Ogwashi-Uku road, with its adjoining parcels of land far from the Ubu stream be ceded to Ogwashi-Uku community.
The lawyer further explained that the position of the Ezemese community of Ibusa with regards to the boundary issue was maintained at the Commission of Enquiry set up by the state government on boundary disputes and was never challenged by the Ogwashi-Uku community or Office of the Surveyor-General during the sittings.
The legal luminary added that all efforts to make the surveyor-general to do the needful by demarcating the boundary to reflect the Supreme Court judgment had been flagrantly neglected as officials failed or refused to comply with the courts’ decision.
Lotobi also enumerated the various desperate ploys by the Ogwashi-Uku community to frustrate the enforcement of the Supreme Court decisions to include, protest letter to the then Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice by the Counsel to the community, Chief George Uwechue, which the Attorney- General rejected maintaining that Supreme Court decision remained sacrosanct.
The legal practitioner warned that the Ezemese community would not cede an inch of the community’s land to any other community for whatever reason.
Lotobi also disclosed that the Ezemese community in Ibusa having fulfilled its obligations for all logistics for the boundary demarcation, had no option than to take steps for contempt proceedings against the Surveyor-General, who later conveyed a meeting for demarcation of the boundary to start but has since failed to bring this to fruition.
He, therefore, urged the state government to reject manipulations and misleading recommendations aimed at violating the rule of law and due process.
