Traditional rulers and leaders of the Nsadop and Abayum communities in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State have filed a lawsuit against the state government over the disputed transfer of the Nsadop Oil Palm Estate to Presco Plc.
The suit was filed before the High Court sitting in Okundi Boki by community leaders including Chief Bernard Ntun, Chief Matthew Besong, Chief Edward Eban, Chief Sylvanus Mgbeyak, Chief Francis Okpa, Anthony Alily, Thomas Besong and Vincent Effi on behalf of affected indigenes.
The defendants in the case are the Cross River State Government, the Attorney General of the state and Michael Owan, who was sued both personally and as representative of the Nsadop Oil Palm Estate Negotiating Committee.
According to the plaintiffs, the dispute originated from a 1964 lease agreement under which the communities leased over 13,500 hectares of land to the defunct Eastern Nigeria Development Corporation for an oil palm project.
They stated that while about 12,000 hectares were developed into the Nsadop Oil Palm Estate, more than 1,500 hectares remained undeveloped and that the corporation failed to pay agreed ground rent and compensation for destroyed economic trees.
The communities further alleged that after the creation of Cross River State, the government inherited the liabilities of the corporation but continued to default on rent and compensation payments.
They told the court that a previous suit filed in 2001 ended in a consent judgment in 2004 where the state government agreed to pay outstanding rent estimated at over N611 million in instalments.
According to the claimants, only N5 million was paid, leaving a huge unpaid balance.
The plaintiffs also accused the government of abandoning the estate for more than 18 years, leading community members to return to parts of the land for farming activities.
The dispute reportedly escalated in December 2025 after reports emerged that the state government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Presco Plc, granting the company a 99 year lease over the estate without the consent of the host communities.
The claimants alleged that the government collected an initial N2 billion payment from Presco despite owing the communities decades of unpaid rent.
They also accused Michael Owan and other individuals of negotiating with the government without community approval.
The communities are asking the court to declare the handover of the estate and the agreement with Presco Plc null and void.
They are also seeking payment of the outstanding N611.3 million debt with interest and N500 million in damages.
The matter has been scheduled for hearing on July 7, 2026.
