Court orders Federal Government to pay N37.6billion damages for 'Odi Invasion'

The Federal Government has been ordered to pay N37.6 billion as compensation within 21 days to the people of Odi in Bayelsa State over the invasion of the community by armed soldiers in 1999.

On Tuesday, Justice Lambi Akanbi of a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, gave the order while ruling on a N100 billion suit filed by the people of Odi.

Following the killing of 12 policemen by armed gangs based in Odi on November 5, 1999, the Olusegun Obasanjo administration deployed soldiers to the town on November 20, 1999. Three days later the town was completely left in ruins.

Alongside the demand for compensation, the community demanded for the Federal Government to issue a public apology for the total destruction and the loss of over 1000 lives. It also asked the court to order the Federal Government to rebuild the community.

While delivering the judgement, Mr. Akanbi berated the government for the “brazen violation of the fundamental human rights of the victims to movement, life and to own property and live peacefully in their ancestral home.”

He said the soldiers completely destroyed the town. He dismissed the argument of counsels to government that no inhabitant of the community was killed except members of the armed gangs and that no property was destroyed as untrue.

Mr Akanbi said no compensation was enough to repair the loss suffered by the people but that he arrived at the compensation based of the estimate provided by professional valuers.
 

I do not condone the gross violation of human rights by the ill-fated invasion by the military; 

... but I am of the opinion this judgement is politically motivated (I stand to be corrected).


 
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