Neya Nigeria sues power holding firm over trespass on Aba premises … Demands compensation

An Aba-based scrap-processing factory, Neya Nigeria Limited, has dragged the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) to court over alleged trespass on its premises. It’s demanding N20 million damages.
In a suit No A/115/2015, filed before the High Court of Abia State, in Aba, the firm accused NDPHC of a breach of a gentleman’s agreement they reached on July 30, 2015 as regards the relocation of part of its factory, located at No. 5, Sun House Alaoji, Aba.
The company specifically accused the NDPHC of tres¬passing on its factory on November 2, 2015 when a task force from NDPHC came to mark the fence/wall of its factory for demolition.
In the nine-paragraph statement of claim, signed by its counsel, Perfect C. Okorie and Co, Neya averred that on the 30th day of July 2015, the defendant sent an inspection team to its company saying that emission and/or heat from its factory may affect their new transmission line and they requested that part of the factory be relocated to another area.
The statement of claim stated: “It was further agreed by the defendant’s inspection team and claimant that claimant should go and make a cost estimate of what is required for the relocation of part of the said factory and communicate same to the defendant. Two of the defendant’s staff that came for the said inspection gave claimant their complimentary cards.
“Claimant states that without any delay on his part, it immediately wrote to the defendant attaching an estimate of the likely cost for its relocation of part of its factory, and sent the said letter to the defendant.
“Instead of reacting positively to the said letter as agreed between the parties, the claimant was surprised when on the 2nd day of November 2015, some persons who claimed to be members of the defendant’s task force came to the claimant’s factory and informed it that they have the defendant’s directive to remove the claimant’s fence/wall and part of the factory. They proceeded to make some mark on the said wall. Claimant also took photographs of the marked wall and shall rely on the said photographs
The firm stated that it was shocked by the action of the defendant, as nothing was said as regards the letter it wrote to the power company.
Neya Nigeria Limited, therefore, sought the order of the court setting aside the defendant’s order for the demolition of its fence/wall and dismantling of its factory equipment, describing it as “illegal and unconstitutional.”
The firm also urged the court to declare that it “is entitled to the use and enjoyment of the property lying and situate at Sun House Alaoji, Aba, Abia State to the exclusion of the defendants or any other person(s) or institution(s); a declaration that the entry into the property lying and situate at Sun House, Alaoji, Aba, Abia State by the defendants amounts to an act of trespass and, therefore, wrongful.
While demanding N20million compensation for general damages, Neya Nigeria also sought for order of perpetual injunction “restraining the defendants or anybody claiming through them from entering and taking over the portion of the land at Sun House, Alaoji, Aba, Abia State or pulling down the fence or dismantling its factory equipment.”
Alternatively, the claimant urged the court to direct the defendants to pay it N179 million, being the amount assessed as the cost of relocation of the company and equipment.