The Nation Newspaper

Category: Law

  • Lalong: Nigeria’s unity not negotiable

    Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong has urged Nigerians to pray for President Muhammadu Buhari’s recovery and for the country’s unity and peaceful coexistence.

    In a statement by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Emmanuel Nanle, the governor said Nigeria’s unity was not negotiable.

    The statement reads: “Governor Lalong uges the Muslim faithful to reflect on the lessons learnt during the Ramadan period and on the significance of fasting as a religious obligation, urging them to allow its true meaning reflect deep on their lives and on the positive impact it will make on the lives of others.

    “He stressed that without the virtues of love and tolerance, religion would make no meaning and peace and stability would be elusive in the society.

    “The governor further called on all citizens in the state to live in harmony with one another and practice their religion in love, truth and in peace.

    “He also urged security agencies to work round the clock to ensure that the festivity is celebrated peacefully in the state. He also urged the Moslem Ummah to ensure the observance of law and order as always during the celebration so as not to infringe on the rights of others.

    “He wishes the Muslim Ummah a rewarding Eid-el Fitr celebration and a prosperous commencement of the month of Shawwal

    Meanwhile the governor entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Public Works (PW) an Irish-Nigerian construction company in Abuja, towards developing the state’s mineral potential.

    “PW an Irish-Nigerian construction company with over four decades of experience in civil works, large scale earth drilling works and mineral exploration activities in Nigeria and Africa,  will,  under the memorandum be deploring her expertise to harness the solid minerals of Plateau by establishing credible data and identifying the mineral potential of the state and its mining industry as a base for viable entrepreneurship and industrialisation of the sector,” the statement added.

  • Strengthening legislative drafting practice

    The next important step towards enhanced legislative drafting practice in Nigeria, is for government to encourage the formation and sustenance of a viable professional union of lawyers in the legislative drafting specialty. Legislative or legal drafting, though still an emerging sublegal discipline in our clime, has long been established as a faculty in the legal profession, with some visible structures, in most advanced jurisdictions. There is the Hong Kong Society of Legislative drafters; Canadian Association of Legislative attorneys; etc.In the United States of America, aside the Central body of legislative counsel, almost every state has a recognised body of legislative attorneys. There is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel (CALC), a regional body of legislative drafters for the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Such body of legislative drafting practitioners in Nigeria, will provide a platform for coordinating research, training, and facilitate professional intercourse among practitioners. It will also provide a database of legislative drafters in both public employment and private practice, for identification and easy reach.

    The fourth, and indeed, the most important step towards enhancing legislative drafting practice in Nigeria, is allocation of drafting jobs, assignments and consultancy, ONLY, to identified, ‘Certified’ Legislative Drafters. There is this trend in Nigeria, often referred to as the ‘Nigerian factor’, where patronage, jobs are awarded on the basis of who one knows or high network connections, rather than the merits of professional capabilities, record of performance and dexterity in a given line of trade. Instances of this absurdities abound in different fields of service.This is believed to be the bane of shoddy deliveries in infrastructures and the service areas. In the legal profession, there is hardly any form of specialisation by practitioners in our space.An individual practitioner is a litigation attorney, company law expert, arbitration lawyer and legislative drafter. The very senior practitioners, some of whom have made fame in the profession; Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Professors of law, etc., are usually favored in legislative drafting assignments. Most times, they know next to nothing in legislative drafting. They pick the briefs and give to their juniors, who copy precedent books and lift foreign statutes without adaptations to make up drafts. This in my estimation, is a profound tragedy to the Nigerian Legal System. This is frequently the reason forsome bizarre provisions in our statute books.A situation where foreign provisions are transposed without modifications into our statutes, can only explain the mix ups and non practicable provisions that occupy spaces in our body of laws.

    The National Assembly,State Legislative Assemblies, Federal and State Ministries of Justice, Nigerian Institute of Legislative Studies and other relevant government agencies,are advised, as a matter of necessity to seek out and identify trained, experienced and exposed legislative drafters, for national patronage.Admittedly, indigenous experts in this field are few and most time silent in our midst, they are nevertheless available.

    Lawyers who are trained, experienced and internationally exposed in legislative drafting are highly treasured assets anywhere in the world, and are indeed in short supply. It is easily recognized, that it is a higher and harder task to prepare a piece of legislation which provisions are clear, precise, unambiguous and sitting in harmony with any other provisions in any other legislation in the jurisdiction, than the interpretation and application of provisions in statutes to given set of facts, which judges do. No wonder, good legislative drafters are high standing national personalities, and often, recipients of national awards, in civilized jurisdictions. Nigeria should seek outthese ‘treasures’, engage and motivate them to assist in preparing our laws, this is the panacea for improved quality in legislative instruments in Nigeria.

     

    • Hilary N. Onwe, the author of ‘Groundwork of Legislative Drafting’ is a UK trained Legislative drafter, works as Head at TAT in Ibadan.

     

     

     

  • Court to hear N350m suit Sept 18

    Justice Chuka Obiozor of a Lagos Federal High Court has fixed September 18 for hearing in a N350 million suit filed by Merchant Navy Maritime Academy Limited, Sagamu, Ogun State against the Navy and the Police for alleged infringement of it fundamental rights.

    The adjournment was at the instance of the applicants’ counsel, Chief Olusegun  Raji who requested for time to enable him study the counter claims of the Navy, which was represented by an officer from the Legal Services Department, Western Naval Command, Sub. Lt. Benjamin Achimgu.

    The Police were not represented.

    Justice  Obiozor frowned at the respondents’ delay to file their counter claims.

    The respondents are former Director of Intelligence, Western Naval Command NNS Beecroft, Captain Ajang Pitrus; Inspector-General of Police; Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone II, Onikan, Lagos;  Directorate of State Service(DSS); Attorney-General of the Federation  and Minister of Justice; Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command; Commissioner of Police, Ogun State Command; the Area Command, Igbeba Area Command, Ijebu Ode; Investigating Police Officer (IPO), Igbeba Area Command, Ijebu Ode, Segeant Wasiu Tijani and IPO, Zone II Area Command, Onikan, Lagos, SUPOL Akinade Oginjo.

    The applicants,  Captain Bola Nuga, Commander Lateef Sanni Ajao,  Pa Olufemi Adesioye and Mr Akinyemi Odebiyi, on behalf of the Merchant Navy Maritime Academy averred that the defendants and their agents breached their rights by illegally arresting and detaining them at the Zone 2 Command headquarters in 2011.

    They deposed that the defendants illegally arrested them and some students at the premises of the Academy adding that even when a competent court in the land had ruled that they should be allowed bail, the defendants and their agents continued to harass and intimidate them.

    The Merchant Navy Maritime Academy personnel claimed that since 2011 when they were granted bail, they had lived in constant fear and apprehension that the defendants would still re-arrest them for no just cause.

    They are asking for N250 million from the first and second respondents and N100 million from third to 11th respondents as general damages for the unlawful breach of their rights, losses and injuries suffered from alleged invasion, unlawful arrest, detention and arraignment of the first to fourth applicants.

    The applicants sought a declaration of the court that their detention by the third and fourth respondents from January 14 to January 24, 2011 at Zone II Police Command, Onikan, on the instruction of the first and second respondents were illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional as it violated their  rights under the 1999 Constitution and Article 6 and 7 of the African Charter on Human Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act.

  • Court upholds marriage dissolution

    An Ikeja High Court has upheld the dissolution of a 15-year-old marriage between a Lagos businessman, Kingsley Onyenobi and his wife, Chioma.

    Last year, an Agege Grade A Customary Court, headed by Mr. Phillip Williams, dissolved the marriage between because of irreconcilable differences.

    Mr Williams held that the allegation of infidelity levelled against Chioma by her husband, Kingsley was enough ground to dissolve the marriage.

    He said the two marriage certificates tendered by the respondent to prove that her marriage was contracted under the Marriage Act were discovered to be fake.

    The court, however, asked parties to maintain the status quo on the custody of the children since it had no jurisdiction to make any pronouncement in that regard.

    Dissatisfied, Chioma approached the high court to reverse the judgment.

    In her motion, she contended that the Agege Customary Court lacked the power to dissolve her marriage, which she insisted was contracted under the Marriage Act.

    She also asked the court to reverse the  order made by the customary court with regard to her children’s custody.

    Onyenobi, however, countered his wife’s averments, insisting that their marriage was contracted under traditional laws.

    He insisted that the Agege Customary Court had the power to dissolve the marriage.

    In his judgment, Justice Kazeem Alogba upheld the customary court’s decision.

    Accordimg to Alogba, there was no evidence to prove appellant‘s claims  that her marriage was contracted under the Act.

    The judge noted that the mere fact that a marriage was conducted in a church and a marriage certificate issued does not prove that such marriage was conducted under the Marriage Act.

    The judge, however, held that the lower court overreached its powers by making a pronouncement with regards to children’s custody. He directed that the custody issue be referred to the family court.

     

  • ‘Enforcement bane of our laws’

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Prof Fidelis Oditah, has said there are  enough laws for tackling crimes. But he lamented that the laws were not being enforced.

    Odittah, who is also a Queen’s Counsel (QC), said this was why some ‘connected’ people commit crimes and get away with it.

    The senior lawyer made this observation in a chat with newsmen in Lagos.

    He said: “We have laws and policies but who is going to enforce them? If you steal a chicken, you are more likely to go to jail than if you steal, say about N1 billion. When you have N1 billion, then you can hire a lawyer, you can reach out to whoever you want to reach out to, to make sure you don’t go to jail.

    “If you steal N1 billion, the EFCC will come in a Gestapo style and there will be a headline that you have been arrested. After two weeks or so, you have fulfilled the bail conditions, you are a free man, living large because the country has no capacity to enforce its laws”.

    Oditah praised some initiatives  by Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) to make the business environment more friendly.

    “ I love those three policy guidelines, especially the one about the default approval that says that if the period for saying ‘no’ has passed, then it is deemed to be ‘yes’. It is fantastic. I hope they can follow up on it,” he said.

    He, however, regretted that in situations where government initiated good policies, civil servants always found justification for not enforcing such for personal reasons.

    He described the public service and  civil servants as corrupt, incompetent and inefficient, noting that “it is difficult to know where incompetence ends and corruption begins”.

    He said the country’s biggest problem is the public service, adding that “given the size of the public service that is very incompetent, very corrupt, very inefficient, how do you deliver public services?

    The lawyer, who practises  abroad, said the inability to enforce laws and policies sometimes frustrates him.

    “I had developed as a lawyer abroad before I came to Nigeria. I was shocked at what I saw. I did not think that there was any justice administration that could go as low as the Nigerian system.

    “I was used to English courts where things are reasonably efficient. When you get to Nigeria, nothing prepares you for the chaos that is in the civil and criminal justice system.

    “You wonder, how is it that we have good lawyers and good justices, but no collective capacity to deliver good civil and criminal justice system?”

    He added: “In Nigeria you can find a chief judge lamenting that judges are over worked. That is unacceptable. If things are dysfunctional, I expect the chief judge to know what to do.”

  • Solanke to lawyers: read more, socialise less

    • SAN presents book on shipping law

    First female Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Chief Folake Solanke has decried the dwindling reading culture among some lawyers.

    She said they spend more time on the social media than they do reading core law books that can improve them.

    “A lawyer who cannot read cannot be a good lawyer,” she said.

    Solanke spoke in Lagos at the presentation of the book: Ship Acquisition and Finance: Law and Practice, written by Prof Fabian Ajogwu (SAN).

    According to her, the internet age has led to a “cut and paste methodology” of legal practice, adding that lawyers no longer develop original legal ideas.

    “All they do is to go to the internet to copy others’ original works. It is becoming a worldwide problem – the abuse of the internet,” she said.

    Solanke, a former Latin and Mathematics teacher, urged parents to teach their children local dialects, saying they grow up to be more intelligent if they first learn to speak their native languages well.

    “If you are not trained to speak your local languages well, you cannot learn others well. That is why the English some speak is atrocious,” she said.

    Another SAN, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, praised Ajogwu for his modesty despite his achievements at a young age.

    The launch, which held last Friday, coincided with Ajogwu’s 47th birthday.

    Awomolo said intellectual work no longer gets appreciated, hence academics struggle to join politics.

    “A professor has no business being a commissioner in a state. What are you doing there?” he asked.

    The book reviewer, a commercial law expert, Mr Sylva Ogwemoh (SAN) of the Kevin Martin Ogwemoh Legal, described the 255-page book as a practical guide to bankers, regulators and practitioners on ship financing and acquisition.

    “I am impressed by his exposition of the subjects. The book is a brilliant legal compendium on shipping and finance,” he said.

    Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) Chairman  and former Chief Judge of Lagos, Ayotunde Phillips, described the author as “very distinguished and very learned, yet so humble and easy to talk to”.

    She said of the publication: “It is a book that is very useful to everyone.”

    Ajogwu said he started writing the book in 2008. He paid tribute to Chief Solanke, describing her as a role model. “She’s like a placard of excellence,” he said.

    Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, writes in the book’s foreward: “The good seaman weathers the storm he cannot avoid, and avoids the storm he cannot weather.

    “This book will help the reader navigate the complexities of international shipping finance in the context of the Nigerian economy.

    “Ship Acquisition and Finance: Law & Practice is an important guide for practitioners in the maritime, banking and financial services sectors.”

  • ABC of constiutional, migration law

    TITLE: S.T. HON’S CONSTITUTIONAL AND
    MIGRATION LAW IN NIGERIA
    AUTHOR: SEBASTINE TAR. HON, (SAN)
    NUMBER OF PAGES: 1,229
    YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2016
    PUBLISHER: PEARL DIGITAL PRESS, PORT HARCOURT
    BOOK REVIEWERS: DELE ADESINA (SAN),  GARBA PWUL (SAN) DAVID O. EZAGA (SAN)

    Published last year, the book “S.T. Hon’s Constitutional and Migration” is, in our humble opinion, the most authoritative book on the subject matter in Nigeria today, being a well researched, well arranged and up-to-date book written by a very seasoned legal practitioner and author.

    Broadly speaking, the book has discussed all the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, with the support of very relevant and current judicial and scholarly authorities.

    Chapter 1 of the book has traced Nigeria’s constitutional history and has also provided tens and tens of principles of constitutional and statutory principles of interpretation, as formulated by the courts. Major words used in the Constitution and which have been given judicial definitions have also been reported and discussed extensively, providing the reader with a very good legal foundation to understand and interpret the provisions of the Constitution.

    Chapter 2, entitled “General Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Distribution of Federal Powers,’ has discussed the constitutionally-enshrined separation of powers, democracy at the Local Government level, amendment of the Constitution and binding nature of treaties. The powers of the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary have been discussed. Here too, the author has demonstrated his deep research, by supplying very relevant and current authorities to cover the topics and subtopics discussed.

    Chapter 3 has also discussed in admirable details the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution on ‘Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy,’ outlining and deeply covering the respective duties of the State and the people.

    To be specifically noted is Chapter 4, which has discussed ‘Citizenship, Migration into Nigeria, Refugee Entry and Movement, Extradition and Movement of Persons within the ECOWAS Sub-Region.’ Inherently and naturally discussed alongside extant provisions of the Constitution are relevant provisions of Nigeria’s Migration, Extradition and Refugee Laws vis-à-vis those of foreign countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, etc. Also discussed are international and regional instruments like the ECOWAS Treaty of May 28, 1975, the UN Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees, the UN Charter and various Declarations, Etc. Current case law has been supplied by the author to back up his discussions.

    Of critical importance, too, is Chapter 5 of the book, which, spanning pages 307-758, is christened ‘Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure.’ The author, quite commendably, has dug very deep into the fundamental rights provisions of the Nigerian Constitution (Chapter IV thereof), discussing them with innovative legal skills. Of particular note is the author’s discussion on comparative international legal instruments – like the European Convention on Human Rights, the Constitutions of the US, the UK, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Canada (the Constitution Charter), the UN Charter on Human Rights, etc. The amazing research capability of this author is on full display under this Chapter – where very current judicial decisions of superior courts of record in Nigeria and of all the above-mentioned countries/international judicial bodies have been cited and discussed.

    To the best of our knowledge, this is probably the first time a book on Constitutional Law in Nigeria has discussed extensively topics and subtopics like ‘Duty and Obligation of the State to Protect Life;’ ‘Surrogate Pregnancy and Assisted Reproduction;’ ‘Parents Rejecting Medical Treatment for their Children’ and Euthanasia, Mercy Killing and Assisted Suicide’ (under Right to Life); ‘Unauthorised Photography;’ Unauthorised Publication of Personal or Confidential Information or Data’ and Medical Privacy’ (under Right to Privacy), etc. The author has discussed all these and many more under Chapter 5, supporting himself, quite commendably, with current local and foreign decisions.

    Chapter V has also done annotations on the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009 – again, with the support of relevant decisions of superior courts. In view of the fact that these Rules have not been exhaustively tested in our appellate courts, the author’s innovative reasoning is a most welcome effort that will ease work for law students, practitioners, researchers and Judges. To be specifically and specially appreciated is the fact that the author has discussed even current decisions on the said Rules.

    Chapter 6 of the book has discussed The Legislature. Subtopics like the Composition and Staff of the National Assembly, Procedure for Summoning and Dissolution of the National Assembly, Qualifications for Membership of the National Assembly and Right of Attendance; Elections into the National Assembly; Power and Control by the National Assembly over Public Funds; and similar provisions as they relate to State Houses of Assembly, etc, have been discussed. This Chapter, also supported by the most current decisions of superior courts of record in Nigeria and outside the shores of Nigeria, spans over 73 pages.

    The Executive Branch of Government is discussed under Chapter 7 of the book. Commenting on section 130 of the Constitution, the author quite correctly likens the Nigerian President to the USA President, who is clothed with executive powers, making him the head of government as well. The authority of A-G of the Federation vs. Abubakar (2007) 10 NWLR (Pt. 1041) 1 at 85 and the US decisions of United States vs. Pink, 315 US 203 (1942), United States vs. Belmont, 301 US 324 (1937), etc, are cited by the author in support.

    Providing recent cases and scholarly commentaries, the author has discussed subtopics like Establishment of Office of the President, Qualification and Procedure for Election of President; Tenure of Office of the President; Death, etc, of President-Elect Before Oath of Office; Disqualification from Contesting for Office of President; Presidential Election Tribunal, Office of the Vice-President; Removal of President and Vice-President from Office; Permanent Incapacity of President or Vice-President; Acting President During Temporary Absence of President; Appointment of Ministers and Ministerial Responsibilities; Attorney-General of the Federation and Public Prosecutions; Appointment and Powers of Special Advisers; Public Revenue; Code of Conduct of Public Officers; Pension Rights, Presidential Pardon, etc. Corresponding provisions of the Constitution with respect to the States have also been amply discussed.

    Also discussed under this Chapter are ‘Presidential Control of the Armed Forces and the Police;’ ‘Formation, Registration and Regulation of Political Parties by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC;’ ‘Role of INEC in Elections,’ etc.

    Chapter 7 has discussed The Judicature or the Judiciary. The establishment, composition, jurisdictions and powers, etc, of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court, the National Industrial Court, superior Courts of the FCT Abuja, State High Courts, the Sharia Court of Appeal, the Customary Court of Appeal, the Code of Conduct Tribunal, etc. have been discussed in great detail. We hereby state that the three Alteration Acts to the 1999 Constitution have affected the Judiciary more than any other branch of government; and the author has again lived up to his billing by discussing all the various amendments – with the support of current decisions of courts of record.

    Also discussed under this Chapter are the appointment and discipline of judicial officers, reference of questions of law to higher courts, etc.

    The last Chapter is christened ‘Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and General Supplementary Provisions.’ It has discussed, with the support of both local and foreign decisions, the Establishment and Status of the FCT Abuja, Procedure for the Declaration of a State of Emergency (where judicial, historical and empirical happenings in the USA, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, etc, have been admirably and fittingly discussed); Resignation from Office of the President, Etc, Restriction on Legal Proceedings against the President, Etc, Existing Laws, Savings/Transitional Provisions of the Constitution; Interpretation of the Provisions of the Constitution, etc.

    General conclusion: S.T. Hon’s Constitutional and Migration Law in Nigeria is a massive monograph of 1,229 pages. It has discussed over 2,500 reported and unreported decisions of courts in Nigeria and abroad. It has also discussed tens and tens of comparative provisions of foreign constitutions and international legal instruments. It is an up-to-date source material that is a must-acquire for every person – since the Constitution affects all.

  • ‘Step up whistle-blower policy’

    The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of Lagos has urged the federal government to step up its whistle-blower policy in its quest to win the war against corruption.

    The non-governmental organisation (NGO) stated this at the weekend at its 53rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at its headquarters in Ikoyi, Lagos.

    Nineteen ‘outstanding’ students were awarded N100,000 each as bursaries and scholarships at the event.

    The AGM’s theme ‘Whistle-blowing in Nigeria: improving on the policy for more results’ was delivered by Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Principal Assistant Registrar, Mrs Adeduntan Segun-Olasanmi.

    YMCA of Lagos president Chief Chris Ogunbanjo said the topic was apt because of the serious harmful effects of corruption in the country.

    He said: “I have no doubt whatsoever that it would yield more positive results in reducing the level of corruption in the country to the barest minimum if the policy is properly managed and implemented.”

    Corruption, he added, is a “hydra-headed monster that is largely responsible for vast majority of Nigerians to wallow in poverty in the midst of plenty.”

    The association ‘s chairman Comrade Mike Onilude, who said whistle-blowing could help sanitise all sectors of Nigerian life, urged the government not to relent in implementing the policy.

  • DPP clears ex-NAMA director of charges

    • Retirees seek N500m damages

    Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Ms P. K. Shitta-Bey has cleared a former director of engineering at the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Godfrey Eze, of assault, breach of peace and malicious damage charges preferred against him.

    In a legal advice sent to the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Criminal Investigation Department, Airport Police Command, the DPP said there was no evidence that Eze committed the offence.

    The police alleged that NAMA staff, led by Sunday James, attempted to eject Eze and another retiree, Moshood Jimoh, from their official quarters at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, last August 8.

    It was alleged that in the course of carrying out the ejection, some unknown hoodlums entered the premises and attacked James and injured him.

    Eze denied the allegation, insisting that he was evicted on February 6 and that his documents and money went missing after the eviction.

    According to the DPP, the complainant was attacked by unknown hoodlums, but there was nothing to show that Eze and Jimoh procured or instructed the hoodlums.

    “It is to be observed that the complainant and other officials of NAMA attempted to eject the tenants without a court order, police escort or court bailiff, which in itself is illegal and unsafe, and this could have attracted the attention of hoodlums and thugs in that neighborhood.

    “In the light of the above, this office will not prosecute Eze and Jimoh for any offence and they should be released if still in custody,” the DPP said.

    Eze and Jimoh have issued a pre-action notice to NAMA over their “malicious and trumped-up prosecution.”

    In a letter to NAMA Managing Director through their lawyer Olukoya Ogungbeje, they are demanding N500 million as exemplary damages.

    The pre-action notice, dated June 12, reads in part: “Our clients’ rights were brazenly and oppressively trampled upon by your agency without cause in a bid to frustrate and silence our client from enforcing the ownership of their official quarters presently sub-judice.

    “We have our clients’ instruction to demand and we hereby demand that exemplary damages in the sum of N500 million be paid to our clients through our chambers within seven clear days of the receipt of this demand letter.

    “Take notice that if your agency fails, neglects and/or refuses to heed to our demand within the stipulated time, we shall explore all legal options open to our clients to press charges for malicious prosecution,” Ogungbeje wrote.

  • Court stops work on estate

    A Lagos High Court has ordered Property Mart Real Estate Investment Limited to stop work on its Grenadines Homes project at Sangotedo.

    Justice Taofikat Oyekan-Abdulalai isued the order following a motion filed by Complete Leisure Estate Nigeria Limited.The applicant accused Property Mart of trespass.

    According to the Judge, “an order of interim injunction be and same is hereby granted to the claimant/applicant restraining the defendant’s agents, privies, workmen and or servants from entering or further entering, occupying, developing and from further constructing any structure on any part or portion of the claimants’ 53.9 hectares of land covered by C of O dated May 6, 2015 and registered as no. 76/76/2015 lying and situated at Sangotedo, Eti Osa local government pending the final determination of this suit”.

    The judge made the order after hearing counsel for both parties, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN) for claimant (Complete Leisure Estate) and Mr. Rahman Oshodi for the defendant (Property Mart) on the motion on notice filed before the court by the claimant.

    Meanwhile, Complete Leisure Estate has commenced contempt proceeding against the Managing  Director of Property Mart for allgedly continuing with construction work at the location.

    In the substantive suit, Complete Leisure Estate claimed that the ongoing construction at Grenadines Homes was a trespass on its property.

    The claimant said it had at no time sold or leased any of part of the land where the project is located to Property Mart.

    The firm claimed that in 2006, Lagos State Government took over its land located at Okota but later compensated it with a 103 hectares of land at Sangotedo.

    The firm, however, stated that it later dragged Lagos State Government to court when its C of O for the 103 hectares at Sangotedo was revoked on two occasions.

    According to the firm, Justice Habib Abiru (now of the Court of Appeal) and Justice Kazeem Alogba both of the Lagos High Court in two separate judgments against the state government handed back the land to it.

    It further stated that an appeal was however filed against both judgments by Ajah Community Developers Association whom the Lagos State Government had allocated part of the 103 hectares to during the pendency of the suit to reclaim its land.

    The firm also stated in the court papers, that during the pendency of the legal action against Lagos State Government, it entered agreement with some companies to sell unspecified portions of the 103 hectares if judgment is given in its favour.

    The firm, however, averred that as part of measures to resolve the protracted litigation, it eventually settled the case with Lagos State government and accepted a settlement offer of  53 hectares out of the 103 hectares of the disputed land and another 65 hectares at Ibeju Lekki.

    Based on this development, the firm said it subsequently invited all the companies it had earlier entered purchase and lease agreement for adjustment since its C of O for the 103 Hectares had been withdrawn by Lagos State Government in replacement of a new C of O for the 53 Hectares.

    According to the firm, Property Mart, was not one of the companies it previously entered purchase agreement with or renegotiated with.

    However, in its counter claim, Property Mart stated that it legally acquired the location for its ongoing construction of Grenadines Home from Saglons Beverages Ventures Limited who has a deed of assignment from Complete Leisure

    The firm claims that the suit filed against it is an attempt to frustrate its project since Saglons Beverages Ventures Limited has dragged Complete Leisure Estate before another court over the disputed property.

    Complete Leisure however alleged in its statement of claim that the deed of assignment referred to was forged and that in the earlier case referred to by Property Mart another judge of the Lagos High Court, Justice Iyabo Kasali, had in a bench ruling restrained Saglons Beverages Ventures Limited from further doing any work on the same site.

    Justice Oyekan-Abdulalai has adjourned the substantive suit between the parties till October 31, 2017 for hearing.