Coconut Estate Issue is Subjudice – Jack Manilla Pepple House Alerts, Cries Out Over Economic Strangulation

The Jack Manilla Pepple Chieftaincy House of Bonny Kingdom, owners of Olom Abalama (Oguede) Community in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State says the recent decision by the Bonny Local Government to shut down activities at its waterfront, popularly known as Coconut Estate is tantamount to economic strangulation of her people.

The Jack Manilla Pepple House asserted that the correct name for the waterfront is Ogugumanga Waterfront and not Coconut Estate as being erroneously purveyed.

The House further raised the alarm that issues relating to the waterfront are subjudice as there is a judgment in suit number: PHC/2772/1998 which restrains all external entities from interference in the waterfront.

It further alerted that there is also a suit: PHC/494/2016 pending before a Rivers State High Court presided over by Justice Monima Danagogo, which seeks to review the status of the waterfront, thus reinforcing the suspension of all actions in and around the waterfront by all concerned.

The Chief and Head of the Jack Manilla Pepple House, Se-Alabo Iganima Jack Manilla Pepple said this on Saturday, January 25, 2025 in an interview with Kristina Reports in Oguede Community in Bonny LGA, Rivers State.

“In 2016, our brother, Harrigan, went to court on behalf of the House, and secured judgment in suit number: PHC/494/1998 and that judgment…restrained everybody from interfering in that portion of land.””

“In that judgment, the Honourable Justice did not mince words. He said that that place is exclusively owned by the Jack Manilla Pepple House. It restrained the Chairman of Bonny Chiefs Council and everybody else from touching that land.”  

“The matter is also before Justice Danagogo of the Rivers State High Court in suit: PHC/2772/2016. Some of our brothers went to court, took the Kingdom and the Rivers State Government to court, and one of the prayers is that, since there is no performance in the lease agreement, the court should declare that the lease ceases to exist.”   

He lamented that since the visit of the Chairman of Bonny LGA, Anengi Claude-Wilcox to the waterfront and ordered the business people there to vacate within a week or face consequences, his people have been suffering as that was their only means of livelihood.

“The Chairman came in there and gave ultimatum for two days, from two days to one week. We are in a civilized society. Where is it done? Two days, one week? Where you have a whole lot of persons benefiting from that place.

“You have those that are bringing sand. You have those that are carrying the sand. You have those that are helping out. You have those that are selling. There are petty traders there. They are agitated now. They are not happy.”

He called for dialogue with the government to avoid strangulating his people economically, noting that his community is positive about developmental efforts and would gladly sustain it trajectory of providing support to development initiatives of the government.

Efforts by Kristina Reports to get the reaction of the Bonny Local Government on the issues raised by the Jack Manilla Pepple House regarding the Ogugumanga Waterfront proved abortive as at the time of this report.