Court orders Nigerian Army to pay N260,000 to host communities

The Kaduna State High Court on Thursday ordered the Nigerian Army to pay N260,000 cost to host communities of Jaji Military Cantonment

Justice Hannatu Balogun ordered the army to pay each of the 260 members N1,000 and also present evidence of payment by July 10.

She also ordered the army to allow members of the communities access to their farmlands.

Earlier, the plaintiffs’ counsel, Kimi Livingston, filed contempt proceedings againstthe General Officer Commanding, 1 Division, and some senior officers.

They alleged that the army refused to obey the court order, which stopped the construction of a perimeter fence around Jaji barracks.

It is also alleged that the army blocked the plaintiffs access to their farmland, villages, and communities during the pendency of the case.

The respondents were not in court but sent a letter stating that officers occupying the offices had been transferred to other places.

The judge refused to accept the letter.

The defendant’s counsel, Aliyu Ibrahim, told the court that he would ensurethat the officers were in court personally by July 10.

He also denied the allegations that he was stopping communities from accessing their farmlands.

Supreme reports that host communities within the Jaji Military Cantonment had, on November 20, 2020, dragged the military to the state High Court over alleged encroachment on their ancestral land.

The communities, which include Wusono, Ungwan Auta, Labar, and Ungwan Alhassan, were in court because the military had started fencing the community into the cantonment while the settlement was ongoing.