25 years after a High Court verdict decided in its favour, the popular St. Mathew Daniel family of Lagos is crying out for superior intervention over the refusal of the Nigerian Army to cede 58 hectares of land illegally taken from it near the 56 Signal Command, in Mile 2, Ojo Road, Lagos. The family is also alerting the authorities on illegal bunkering activities ongoing on the land. Opeyemi Samuel, who has closely followed the case, reports.
Though Nigeria is a country with a constitution, anyone who gets to know the ordeal of the prominent St. Mathew Daniel Family of Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area in Lagos State would not think twice before asking whether the authorities of the Nigerian Army, a creation of law with the responsibility of safeguarding the territorial integrity of the country, are bigger than the constitution of Nigeria or simply put, immune to verdicts of courts of competent jurisdiction in the country.
This much was the impression created by a visibly disillusioned Agboola Anjou, who is chairman of the Grand-children of St. Mathew Daniel Family, at a recent interactive session with select journalists. The meeting, held on behalf of the entire St. Mathew Daniel clan in Lagos, was to apprise the media and indeed the public and higher authorities of the refusal of authorities of the Nigerian Army to vacate the family land near the 56 Signal Command, Nigerian Army, Mile 2, Ojo Road, Ajegunle, Lagos, in defiance of the judgement of a court of competent jurisdiction.
Anjou, who spoke extensively alongside the family Lawyer, Barrister Remi Atoyebi of Matanmi Chamber, appealed to the press, being the fourth realm of the estate, to let the world know the level of impunity going on in the country. More amazing, they said, is the fact that such impunity could be extended to the reign of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, which claims to be waging wars against sleaze, gross misconduct and impunity.
“The 58-hectare land is a subject of Lagos State High Court decision. After that judgment, which ordered the Army to relinquish the land, the army, as people of power, decided to fence off 58 acres illegally. The court also ordered the army to pay our family some compensation of the sum of twenty million naira (N20 million) in 1993 for the land that they acquired legally from us. They paid the family (for the one they acquired legally for their offices, barracks and school).
“However, they fenced an extra 58 acres and the court ordered them to give it back to the family. But the army has refused to give it back to the family. At a point, they released the land to us, which Barrister Makun Alabi, one of the family’s grandchildren signed for, but the army still did not vacate the land up till this moment. The land is now a haven for illegal bunkering; the NNPC pipeline that passes through the place is now being used to scoop fuel. Over forty trailers are parked on the land by oil barons who pay royalties to the Army,” Anjou lamented.
Impunity in the Temple of Change
The land, measuring 627 hectares, was given to the St. Mathew Daniel Family by the Supreme Court of Nigeria in a judgment delivered on Friday, the 28th of February, 1986 by Justice Dahunsi Olugbemi Coker, in a suit number SC.80/1984 and was unanimously adopted by other members of the panel namely: Justice Anthony Nnanezie Aniagolu, Justice Augustine Nnamani, Justice Mohammed Uwais, Justice Adolphus Godwin Karibi-whyte, Justice SaiduKawu and Chukwudigu Oputa.
According to Anjou, following the Supreme Court verdict, the land was divided into two blocks: A and B. A was divided into 12 covering the entire children of the late patriarch, Chief St. Mathew Daniel and B was divided into twelve – all shared among the children. For block A, it was about 11 acres per child while B was divided into 36-acre per child.
Etymology of the Hullabaloo
After the children shared the land among themselves, however, the Authority of the Nigerian Army through the 56 Signal Command at Mile 2, Ojo Road, Lagos, encroached into about 58 acres and fenced it along with the land legally acquired by them, leading to the family dragging the Army Authority to court before Justice A. Ade Alabi of Lagos High Court sitting at Ikeja in 1991.
The court action against the Army with number LD/2659/91, which dragged for two years, was finally decided in favour the St. Mathew Daniel Family on Wednesday, 1st September 1993. The case, filed by one Chief Francisca Adeyanju – on behalf of the St. Mathew Daniel had the Nigerian Army, the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Army Staff, the Minister of Works and Housing and the Attorney General of the Federation as Respondents.
In her ruling ordering the Army to vacate the land, Justice Ade Alabi, aside lampooning the Army for unlawfully taking possession of lands belonging to civilians, awarded cost of N2,000 against the Respondents.
The court also ordered the authority of the Nigerian Army to pay the sum of twenty million, four hundred thousand naira only (#20, 400, 000.00) as fine to the St. Mathew Daniel Family for illegally encroaching the family land, almost a decade before the verdict.
Investigations conducted by our correspondent confirmed that the fine, a total of twenty one million, two hundred an ninety six thousand, six hundred and ninety six naira (#21,296,696) debt was paid by the Central Bank of Nigeria to the family through their lawyer, Mr. Tunde Seriki of Tunde Seriki & Co into a United Bank of Africa Account Number 201-18454-7 on 15th September 1996.
However, after several appeals, the authority of the Nigerian Army, in the presence of the public and the press, handed the 58.228 acres of land over to Barrister Mako Alabi-St Mathew Daniels by Major General S.E Asemota, the then Commandant, Nigerian Army Signals, Ojo, Lagos 30th November, 2011 amidst joy and elation by the family.
A fact check by our reporter further shows that the authority of the Nigerian Army filed a suit with No. CA/L/798M/10 at Lagos division of the Court of Appeal against the 1993 judgment of Justice Ade Alabi of the Lagos State High Court. However, the Army filed a notice dated 6th on May 2015 before the court presided over by Hon. Justice J.S Ikyegh to discountenance from the appeal and the case was subsequently struck out without objection from the respondents’ Lawyer, Atoyebi.
To prove their commitment to peace, the family in an undertaking signed by Mr. Agboola Anjou with the Nigerian Army on 14th December 2018, promised never to undergo or institute further court actions against the authority.
But after failing to get the authority of the Nigerian Army to vacate the land, the St. Mathew Daniel Family in a letter dated 31st May, 2019 written by Mr. Agbola Anjou and another letter dated 19th July 2018, written by their Lawyers, F.B.A Nabena and Idaewor Alaoye (Mrs) of Shammah Chambers, appealed to the immediate past Minister of Defence, Brigadier Mansur Dan Alli (Rtd.) to intervene in the matter, so that the authority of the Nigerian Army could permit the family to develop their land. Alli, in his response to the letter which was personally delivered to him by Anjou, promised to ensure the family gets justice.
Regrettably, despite the foregoing actions, this newspaper reports that the St. Mathew Daniel Family has not been allowed by the Army to develop the land as all efforts to do so have been repeatedly repelled by men of the Nigerian Army at 56 Signal Command, leaving the family helpless, as it is most unwise to attempt to join issues with armed persons.
Evidence shows land already gazetted by Federal Government in family’s favour
Further research conducted by this reporter indicated that the formal handing over of the land by the Army authority to St. Mathew Daniels family has been gazetted by the Federal Government of Nigeria with no. 117. Vol. 100 dated 26th December 2013, thereby confirming that the land, officially belongs to the family.
Multiple petrol tankers on land
Despite that the Nigerian Army has, time without number told developers who visit its Signal Command at Mile 2 for confirmation that the land belongs to the St. Mathew Daniel Family, our correspondent who visited the land for an on-the-spot assessment reports that the impression being created is to the contrary, as the inscriptions: “This Land Belongs to Nigerian Army Trespassers Keep Off” are plainly written on it.
Also, our under-cover reporter who attempted to encroach the land, disguising as a mad person, was chased away by stern-looking soldiers and thugs.
Our reporter, though unable to take photographs of the tankers, confirmed independently that multiple petrol tankers are currently stationed on the land, giving credence to the suspicion of the St. Mathew Family that the land is now a haven of bunkering activities.
My raw encounter with Army personnel by land agent
In the course of this investigation, our correspondent ran into a retired civil servant, now into Real Estate, Mr. Adekunle Olalekan, who narrated how Army officers descended on him and a Shoprite staff whom he took to the land for inspection.
He said, “We had some clients who wanted to buy from the property. Because of the magnitude of the property we are talking about, I saw so many agents and one of them brought the man from the project department of ShopRite for inspection. He made a mistake of taking pictures and I quickly cautioned him, but he insisted that he needed to have images to show to his boss in the office. I warned him that it was a security area, but along the line, I stopped somewhere to ease myself and before I knew what was going on, soldiers had surrounded him and were taking him to the barracks. Fortunately, he was released within 30-minutes later, with an instruction to never to come near the land again.
Shipping Lines seek refund from family over inability to develop property
As stated by Agboola Anjou, another twist to this saga is that two companies who bought some plots of Land from St. Mathew Daniel family some years ago have written separate letters to the family, requesting for a refund over their inability to develop their land since it was acquired.
The firms namely, Comet International Shipping Line, incorporated by Ex-Minister of Defence, Gen. T.Y Danjuma (Rtd) in 1985 and Kazumo Shipping Company, owned by a Lebanese identified simply as ‘Saheed,’ are seeking for a refund with a demand for interest.
In an interview with this reporter, the lawyer representing Comet Shipping Company, Barrister Nicholas Brice confirmed that his client has demanded for a refund of the money paid to the family some years ago, stating that the only thing that could save the family from paying back the money is for them to fight the Army to vacate their family land.
In his words, Bruce said, “My brother, if you are in my shoes, how would you feel? Though we are sympathetic to the plight of the family because all evidence shows that the land actually belongs to them but we are talking about business here. My client is running out of patience and the only grace now for the family is to fight the army to recover the land from the Army or else we may have to drag them to court.
Mr. Saheed of Kazumo Shipping Line also confirmed that his firm bought land from St. Mathew Daniel Family and the firm has not been able to develop the land. He however refused to speak further, directing our reporter to the company Lawyer, Mr. Sidney Amadi.
However, several calls and text messages sent to Mr. Amadi was not returned as at the time of filing this report.
Land mistakenly released to family, says Army source; NNPC keeps mum
Calls and text messages put through to the spokesperson of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mr. Ndu Nghamadu, to get reactions on the alleged illegal bunkering activities on the land, were not returned as at the time of filing this report.
However, when contacted by our correspondent, the Commandant, Signal Command, Nigerian Army, Mile 2, Ojo Road, Lagos, Col. A.O Ojo, said the testimony of the St. Mathew Daniel Family is filled with lies, but said he is not permitted to speak on the matter.
He thereafter directed our reporter to the Director of Land and Engineering, Nigerian Army Headquarters, Bonny Camp, Victoria Island, Brigadier General Ibukun Adewa for clarification.
However, when contacted, Adewa referred our correspondent to the Army Headquarters, Garki, Abuja or Logistics Department, Nigerian Army, Bonny Camp, Victoria Island, Lagos, stating that only the Army Spokesperson is permitted to speak on the matter of such magnitude.
Efforts to get the response of the Army Spokesperson, however, proved abortive but an impeccable source in the Logistics and Engineering department at Bonny Camp, Victoria Island, Lagos in the Nigerian Army, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said that the land was mistakenly released by the Army Authority to St. Mathew Daniel’s family in 2011, stressing that the Nigeria Army was “Ill-advised”.
The source, a Brigadier-General, stated that further investigation by the Army has shown that the land in question belongs to the Nigerian Army, contrary to the claim of the family. He said the then Commandant of the Signal Command at Mile 2, Lagos, Major General Asemota, mistakenly released the land and that Brigadier-General Davis who handed over the land to the family, was not the right person to do.
When the source was reminded of the existing court judgment that has not been upturned by an upper court, giving the land to the family, the senior army officer simply said: “It doesn’t matter.” And when told that the land in question has already been gazetted by the Federal Government in favour of St. Mathew Daniel family, our source reprehensibly said “unbelievable.”