The people of Umueje in Ayamelum local government area of Anambra state on Friday re-assured Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, of its commitment to host its Faculty of Agriculture.
The community’s traditional ruler, HRH Igwe Elias Nneli, gave the assurance in an interview with Blueprint in Awka after a Federal High Court presided over by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba struck out a case filed by their son, Mr. Benson Amuluche, and others over the ownership of the land gifted to UNIZIK to site the faculty.
Nneli, who said the judgement was a welcome development, re-emphasised that the land was not under contention because it was a communal land freely offered to the university.
The monarch said the community was committed to providing the institution with all it needed to operate smoothly and appealed to Amuluche and others to accept the outcome of the court for the overall interest and development of the community.
Also speaking, the president-general of Umueje, Chief Fidelis Chidube, said the community followed extant laws in gifting the land to Nnamdi Azikiwe University.
Earlier, the counsel to Umueje in the suite, Barrister Lawrence Obiora, disclosed that it was because the Federal High Court had no jurisdiction to entertain the case, but a High Court or Customary Court within the community’s jurisdiction as contained in Section 25 (1) of the Nigeria Constitution and Section 31 of the Land Use Act.
