The Supreme Court has restrained the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the Imo State Attorney General and Revenue Mobilisation Allocation, and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) from taking any further actions in awarding oil revenues from Akri and Mgbede Oil wells in Oguta and Ohaji/Egbema Local government areas of Imo State.
Imo state government had last week said it had recovered 43 oil wells from Rivers making it the 4th largest oil producer in the country following resolution of a boundary dispute between it and Rivers over the ownership of the Akri and Mgbede oil wells.
But the Supreme Court in a sitting on Wednesday granted the order contained in an ex-parte motion filed by Emmanuel Ukala (SAN) for the Attorney General of Rivers State.
The court specifically made an interim order restraining the first and second defendants (AGF and Imo AG) and their agents, including the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation, and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) from giving effect to the letter from the office of the Chairman of RMAFC, with Reference Number RMC/O&G/47/1/264 dated July 1, 2021, directing a departure from the current 50/50 sharing formula applied to Rivers and Imo state in respect of revenue accrued, accruing or derived from the Akri and Mgbede Oil Wells/Fields, subject matter of this suit and in its place, directing deductions to be made from the revenue accruing from the said oil wells to Rivers State and in favour of Imo State.
The order, according to court documents is to subsist pending the determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction filed on June 16 this year by the plaintiff in a pending suit filed by Rivers State.
In the substantive suit marked: SC/CV/1037/2020, with the AGF and Imo AG as defendants, Rivers State is contesting Imo State’s claim to some communities in its territory housing many oil wells.
The court fixed Sept. 21 to hear the substantive matter.
The Rivers government dragged the AGF and the Attorney -General of Imo to the Supreme Court over disagreement on boundaries.
The plaintiff prayed for declaration that the boundary between it and Imo, as delineated on Nigeria administrative map and other maps bearing similar delineations were inaccurate.
It held that the maps did not represent the legitimate and lawful boundaries between the two states.
The plaintiff also sought a declaration that as far as Nigeria’s administrative map and other maps bearing similar delineations relate to the boundaries between Rivers and Imo, the said maps were unlawful and void.
It held that the maps could not be relied on to determine the extent of the territorial governmental jurisdiction of Rivers and to determine the revenue accruing to Rivers from the federation account.
It further prayed the Supreme Court to declare that the correct instrument, maps and documents, to be relied on in determining the boundary between Rivers and Imo were those used by the plaintiff in delineating the boundary line between the two states.
The plaintiff also sought a declaration that all the oil wells within Akri and Mbede communities were wrongly attributed to Imo and that they were all oil wells within the territory of Rivers.
“They form part of Rivers and it is only Rivers that is entitled to receive the full allocation of the distributable revenue from the oil wells on the basis of the 13 per cent derivation as contained under Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution.”
The state asked for an order of mandatory injunction directing the AGF to calculate, to its satisfaction, and refund to it all revenue that had been wrongly attributed to or paid to Imo on account of the limit or extent of their territories.
This, it said should include earnings due to it from revenue derived from Akri and Mbede oil wells.
It asked for an order of mandatory injunction directing the AGF to produce the administrative map bearing the correct boundary between Rivers and Imo.
The plaintiff also asked that the sum of N500 million be awarded as the cost of prosecuting the case.
