Court orders Bayelsa to return oil well to Rivers

Ade Adesomoju, Abuja
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday
ordered the return of Soku oil fields from
Bayelsa State to its rightful owner, Rivers State .
Delivering judgment in a suit instituted by
Rivers State , Justice Inyang Ekwo ordered the
National Boundary Commission to effect the
transfer by rectifying the error in its 11 th
Edition of the Administrative Map of Nigeria ,
which designated San Bartholomew River,
instead of River Santa Barbara, as the boundary
between the two states .
According to the judge , the error , which was
said to have surfaced in the 11 th Edition of
Administrative Map produced by the NBC in
2002 , has negatively impacted the oil revenues
accruable to Rivers State from the Federation
Account due to the loss of the Soku Oil Field.
He , therefore , made “ an order directing that
the notice of the decision of this honourable
court be served on the Revenue Mobilisation,
Allocation and Fiscal Commission and the
Accountant General of the Federation ” to
enable them to start acting on the new map in
computing the additional oil revenues
accruable to Rivers State following its regaining
of the oil field .
The Supreme Court in a judgment delivered on
July 19 , 2012 ordered the commission to rectify
the error expeditiously by restoring Santa
Barbara River as the interstate boundary
between Rivers and Bayelsa states.
Citing the apex court ’ s judgment on Monday,
Justice Ekwo said the NBC had in its letter
dated July 3 , 2002 replying Rivers State
government ’ s protest admitted its mistake and
promised to rectify it in the 12 th edition of the
administrative map but never did .
Failure of the NBC to rectify the mistake as
promised made the Rivers State government ,
through its Attorney - General , to file a suit
against the Attorney General of Bayelsa State
and the Attorney General of the Federation
before the Supreme Court in 2009 .
The Supreme Court on July 10 , 2012 ruled in
favour of Rivers State and ordered the
rectification of the error .
By August 22 , 2019 , when the mistake had yet
to be corrected , Rivers State Government
instituted a suit before the Federal High Court
in Abuja solely against the NBC seeking an
order of mandamus compelling it to correct its
error .
Granting the plaintiff ’ s prayers in his judgment
delivered on Monday, Justice Ekwo held that
“ the continued failure and /or refusal of the
defendant ( NBC) to rectify its admitted mistake
in the 11 th Edition of the Administrative Map
of Nigeria since 2002 , which erroneously
showed San Bartholomew instead of River
Santa Barbara as the interstate boundary
between the plaintiff state and Bayelsa State ,
constitutes a breach of its statutory duty and a
flagrant disobedience to the order of the
Supreme Court contained in its judgment
delivered on July 10 , 2012 in suit with number
SC . 106/ 2009 . ”
It made “ an order of mandamus or mandatory
injunction compelling the defendant (NBS ) to
rectify forthwith in the 12 th Edition of the
Administrative Map of Nigeria , the erroneous
interstate boundary between Rivers State and
Bayelsa State as contained in the extant 11 th
Edition of the Administrative Map of Nigeria ” .
The court also made an order “ deeming the
administrative boundary between Rivers and
Bayelsa states to be River Santa Barbara in
accordance with the admission of the defendant
( NBC) as per its letter of July 3, 2002 and the
definitive order of the Supreme Court entered
and made on July 7 , 2012 . ”
It also declared that “ the continued reliance on
the said defective 11 th Edition of the
Administrative Map of Nigeria by other
government agencies , statutory bodies ,
especially the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation
and Fiscal Commission and the Accountant
General of the Federation in computation of the
revenue accruable to the plaintiff from the
Federation Account has resulted in the
continued unjust / unfair denial of allocation of
derivation funds /money accruing from the
Soku Oil Fields /Wells situated within the Rivers
State to the detriment of the plaintiff . ”