By Abdullahi Ahmad Bamalli
The Nigerian Army was ordered to pay the sum of N260,000 to the host communities of Jaji Military Cantonment by the Kaduna State High Court on Thursday.
The army received the order by Justice Hannatu Bolagun to pay each of the 260 members N1,000 cost and also present evidence of payment by July 10.
She also ordered the army to allow members of the communities access to their farmlands.
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Earlier, the Plaintiffs’ Counsel, Kimi Livingston filed contempt proceedings against the General Officer Commanding, 1Division 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 barrack.
Also, they 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 ensure that the officers were in court personally by July 10.
He also denied the allegations of stopping communities from accessing their farmlands.
The host communities within the Jaji Military Cantonment had in November 2020 dragged the military to the state High Court, over alleged encroachment of 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.
