By Muftau Ogunyemi
Ondo State High Court, Ore Division sitting in Ondo Town on Monday fixed August 7 to hear the application seeking the joining of Babajide Akeredolu, the son of Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, in a matter challenging the destruction of farmers’ cocoa plantations in Oluwa forest reserve in Odigbo Local Governmentu Area of the state.
The farmers, through they lawyer, Barr. Tope Temokun, have filed a motion to join Babajide who is the Director-General of Ondo State Performance and Project Monitoring Implementation Unit (PPIMU) and currently in charge of directives on the grading of the farmers’ cocoa trees by SAO AGRO-ALLIED SERVICES LTD.
The lawyer, had earlier filed Form 48 to kickstart contempt proceedings against the Managing Director of SAO AGRO-ALLIED SERVICES LTD, Mr. Ayo Sotinrin, over the continued grading of farmer’s cocoa farmlands.
Temokun explained that the court had on the May 2, 2023 granted an interim injunction, restraining the Ondo State Government and SAO AGRO-ALLIED SERVICES LIMITED, among others, from further grading the Cocoa plantations of the farmers.
According to him, SAO AGRO-ALLIED SERVICES LIMITED has continued its grading work since then, destroying the farmers’ trees and replacing the cocoa trees destroyed with its oil palm trees and this has been covered in evidence with drone in the farmers possession.
Temokun, therefore, told the court that it’s important to join Babajide because he allegedly gave the order for the clearing of the cocoa plantations as the Director General,, Ondo State Performance and Project ., Implementation.Monitoring Unit(PPIMU).
He told the court that several hectares of Cocoa plantations belonging to the farmers were allegedly destroyed by SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited.
Meanwhile,Dr Abdul-Kabir Ajana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who was a defendant’s counsel including Pastor Akin Olotu, Senior Special Assistant (Agric & Agribusiness) to the Governor told the court that he had an application to file to vacate an Interlocutory Injunction granted the applicants on May 2, 2023 by the court.
But the claimant’s lawyer told the court that there was no interlocutory Injunction granted his clients by the court but rather an Interim Injunction.
Temokun, who told the court that there was an error in the service of the injunction by the court registry, said that the respondents could only file application for the error in the service.
“On May 2, 2023, the court had granted the farmers interim order restraining the respondents from further clearing of the applicants’ cocoa plantations.
“But when preparing the paper for the order, the court erroneously input interlocutory Injunction instead of interim injunction and the error was subsequently rectified after the counsel to the applicants noticed the error when he was served the paper by the court.
“So, the attorney to the respondents also received the copy of the corrected version of the order granted by the court which was an interim order,,” he said.
Temokun, therefore, noted that there was no reason for the attorney to the respondents to file an application seeking the vacation of interlocutory Injunction which was not granted by the court.
Justice Aderemi Adegoroye, who presided over the case, held that he would give both applications hearing at the next sitting and rule over them.
Adegoroye, therefore, adjourned the case to August 7, 2023.
Speaking with the newsmen at the court premises, Mr Abayomi Rotimi, Chairman of the farmers, explained that no fewer than five among the farmers whose farms were destroyed had died of heart attack.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that hundreds among the affected farmers were seeing waiting within the court premises during the court sitting. (NAN).