Unic Press UK: A Federal High Court, Abuja, presided by Justice Inyang Ekwo ruled Monday in Suit Number FHC/ABJ/CS/984/19 that Rivers State is the rightful owner of Soku Oil Wells/Fields situated at Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State that were ceded to Bayelsa State during the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigeria Lawyer wrote on its website.
By its ruling the Court compels the National Boundary Commission to ensure that the 12th Edition of the Administrative Map of Nigeria rectifies the error in the 11th Edition, with regard to the interstate boundary between the two states.
Judge Ekwo decried the losses of revenue [derivation fund] already suffered by the River State government since the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and the Accountant General of the Federation had relied on the defective boundary delineation in the 11th Edition of the Administrative Map.
The Court said that RMAFC has a responsibility to obey the Supreme Court judgement served on 10 July 2012 that affirmed River Santa Barbara [and not San Bartholomew River] as the boundary between the two states – Rivers and Bayelsa.
