The Kaduna State High Court on Thursday ordered the Nigerian Army to pay N260,000 cost to host communities of Jaji Military Cantonment.
Justice Hannatu Balogun ordered the army to pay each of the 260 members N1,000 cost and present evidence of payment by July 10.
She also ordered the army to allow members of the communities access to their farmlands.
The plaintiffs’ counsel, Kimi Livingston, had filed contempt proceedings against the general officer commanding, One Division and some senior officers, alleging the army refused to obey the court order, which stopped the construction of a perimeter fence around Jaji barracks.
Also, the community alleged that the army blocked 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 the officers were in court by July 10 but denied the allegations of stopping communities from accessing their farmlands.
The host communities within the Jaji Military Cantonment had, in November 2020, sued the military over alleged encroachment of their ancestral land.
The communities, including Wusono, Ungwan Auta, Labar, and Ungwan Alhassan, were in court because the military was fencing the community into the cantonment while the settlement was ongoing.