Justice Benjamin Iheka of the High Court of Imo State has restrained eight parties, including the Imo State Government and Founder of Zion Gate Ministries, Chukwuebuka Obi, from building on a parcel of land allocated to Chelsea Group Limited, contrary to the Public Private Partnership agreement.
In the court order the Judge specifically ordered that the status quo be maintained, pending the determination of the motion on notice filed by the plaintiffs.
He issued the order following a motion exparte argued by the counsel to the firms, B.M. Iyke-Iweajunwa.
The land was said said to have been allocated to Imo-Chelsea Industrial Park Limited under a Public Private Partnership agreement with Chelsea Group and the Imo State Government, to develop an Industrial Park/Hub, known as the Imo/Chelsea Industrial Park.
But the Lead Counsel to Chelsea Group, Rex Erameh, at a press conference in Abuja, called on the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to intervene as Ebuka Obi has refused to obey the court order and is planning to build on it.
According to him, based on the court verdict, none of the defendants is allowed to either dispose of, tamper with, build upon, or deal with the land in any other manner contrary to what the Public Private Partnership is for, which is to develop and build an Industrial Park/Hub for the economic/commercial development of Imo State.
He said, “All parties have been restrained but Ebuka Obi is still building his church on the land and intends to conclude the church’s prayers and fasting with a crusade on the land in a couple of days from now. This attitude of acting with impunity and flouting court orders is not befitting of a clergyman. I thereby call on him to emulate the teachings of Christ and obey constituted authority such as the subsisting court order.
“In light of the facts stated above, I hereby call on all the Defendants, especially Ebuka Obi, to discontinue any form of activity on the parcel of land in question, which is already a subject of litigation, pending before the Imo State High Court 6, Owerri.
“Also, and most importantly, to note that there is an injunction restraining all parties from carrying out any form of activity on the parcel of land, pending the final determination of the suit.
“From what we have gathered, Ebuka Obi is planning to conclude the church’s 100 days prayer and fasting spiritual exercise on the same land. We use this medium to immediately call on the IGP to wade into this matter before it degenerates further, especially as there is a subsisting court Order of injunction.”
Meanwhile, a Senior Member of the Zion Prayer Movement Outreach (ZPMO), Patrick Ihionu, said Imo State was chosen for its upcoming three-day World Conference because of its quest for a larger space to accommodate the rapidly expanding congregation.