Why Supreme Court Ruled In Favour Of Rivers As Regards17 Oil Wells Dispute with Imo

The court decided that the oil wells located in Ndoni and Egbema communities belong to Rivers.

Joseph Daudu, counsel to the Rivers state government had earlier pleaded on the court to rule it judgment in the favor if the state on the premise that historical evidences from 1927 to date shows that the oil wells belong to the state as he drew the attention of the court to the boundary adjustment paper of 1976 in which Ndoni and Egbema were confirmed to belong to Rivers state.

He also countered the Attorney-General of the Federation's contention that the dispute should have been heard in a Federal High Court rather than the Supreme Court because locals should have testified orally in the matter.

According to Daudu, the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction and may easily examine all accessible historical documents dating back to the colonial era to identify which state owns the oil wells.

There was previously a political arrangement put in place by the Nigerian government for the revenue from the disputed wells to be shared equally between the two states.

However, when Emeka Ihedioha became governor in 2019, a presidential memo directed that all the revenue should go to Imo. The Rivers state government swiftly filed a suit against the presidential directive.