From Maurice Okafor,Enugu.
The Ministry of Environment and Mineral resources[MOEMR] has taken an Enugu hotel proprietor Mr Obi Ugwunta to court over alleged disturbance of public peace and discomort to some residence of Amorji Nike, with high musical sounds that usually emanates from his hotel,known as ‘Tonsand hotels and suites,located in area
The suit with No EPC/E/1c/20 MOEMR vs TONSAND Hotels and suites which will come up for earin on February 5 was mentioned at the Enugu Environmental Court on Wednesday, January 22, presied over by Magistrate Henry Asogwa.
The defence counsel had told the court that the summons was brought to his chambers barely 48 hours to the court siting even as it was dated on December 15,2019. He pleaded with the court to give him more time to contact with the Hotel proprietor, Mr Obi Ugwunta,whom he claimed travelled outside the country.
The prosecution officers,U.C.Obeta and Henry Marie concurred with the plea for the new date of February 5,.
It was gathered that prior to the suit against the hotel by Ministry of environment,residents of Amorji Nike has made passionate appeals to the hotelier to curtail the rate of musical noise that usually emanates from the hotel to the discomfort of the residents,in as much as the layout is originally carved out by the state government authorities purely as a residential area, but their pleas were not considered.
An Enugu based Non governmental organisation(NGO ) known as Peoples Creative Empowerment International (‘PCEI’)as part of efforts to bring the hotel management to order had petitioned some government agencies including the state commissioner for environment,Mr Chijioke Edeoga. The continuous defiance of directives to halt the noise by the hotel management is what eventually snowballed into the court action.
