300 Asaba property owners ask Delta governor to intervene in university land dispute
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More than 300 owners whose buildings were demolished at Parkview Estates in Asaba have asked Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to intervene in their land dispute with Dennis Osadebay University and to pay compensation.
More than 300 property owners whose buildings were demolished at Parkview Estates in Anwai, Asaba, have appealed to Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to intervene in a protracted land dispute between the estate and Dennis Osadebay University.
The owners said their buildings were pulled down on 14 May 2024 by the Delta State Taskforce on Recovery of Government Lands despite pending court proceedings and an injunction they say restrained further action. Speaking to journalists after proceedings at the High Court in Asaba, Parkview Estates chairman Charles Ogbobe described the demolition as devastating, saying it destroyed investments worth millions of naira, rendered families homeless and caused severe financial hardship.
Mr Ogbobe said the disputed land at Anwai, Musa Camp — later renamed Ugbomanta by the Asagba of Asaba — was acquired from the Isieke community, which he said holds documents establishing ownership. He argued the dispute stems from competing claims between the community and the state-owned university, and that the parcel was originally leased to a colonial administrator, Reverend Prior, in 1953 for 50 years, a lease he said expired in 2003. He alleged that between 12 and 13 affected people have died since the demolition as a result of hardship and trauma.
According to him, the High Court has directed both parties to produce survey plans delineating the boundaries of the disputed property. Estate vice chairman Samuel Onuwa David alleged the demolition was carried out before a seven-day notice to occupants expired despite efforts by residents to obtain an injunction, and said he lost a private school, a residential building and four buildings belonging to his in-laws. He said available documents show the lease to the university expired in 1991.
“We are appealing to the governor, as a father, to come to our aid. Let him compensate us for the houses that were demolished and give us back our land,” Mr David said.