Bayelsa Court Jails Police Commissioner Over Land Dispute

A Bayelsa State High Court sitting in Yenagoa has sentenced the state Commissioner of Police, to prison for failing to comply with a court order regarding a long-standing land dispute.

The order follows an earlier ruling on November 26, 2016 (Suit No. YHC/210/2014), which was upheld by the Court of Appeal in CA/PH/170/2018.

The dispute concerns a parcel of land in Asam, currently used as the operational base for the state-owned security outfit, Operation Doo-Akpo.

The land ownership was legally determined in favour of nine families from the Yenizue-gene Community, including the Fabiri, Ayoko, Aku, Ugbon, and Obediah families, as well as the Sampson and Boye families of Yenagoa Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.

At a press briefing, the lead Counsel for the Claimants, Ukunbiriowei Saiyou, confirmed that the court issued the imprisonment order against the Commissioner of Police following a ruling by Justice R. Ajuwa on December 27, 2024.

He said the claimants initiated committal proceedings in 2022 over the Commissioner’s failure to obey multiple court rulings.

“The police refused to appear for proceedings or challenge the various decisions of the court,” Saiyou stated.

With the Commissioner now sentenced, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) has been urged to intervene and enforce compliance with the judgments issued by the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt on June 10, 2021.

Failure to do so, Saiyou warned, could lead to the arrest of the Commissioner of Police, Bayelsa State Command.

Saiyou further revealed that since Saipem vacated the disputed land along Elebele-Opolo Road, the police and Operation Doo-Akpo have been occupying it illegally without the families’ consent.

“The Bayelsa State High Court ruled in favour of the families, and the Court of Appeal reaffirmed this judgment, yet the police have continued to occupy the land unlawfully,” he noted.

Representatives of the nine families, Chief Honest Boye Wilson and Hon. Manager Fabiri, expressed their frustration over the police’s refusal to vacate their land.

However, they assured that they would remain peaceful and law-abiding, choosing legal channels rather than public protests against the state government or the police.