Before an Ikeja High Court, Lagos State, is a litigation on a 26,486-hectare land involving a popular television evangelist and a military officer. The preacher is asking the court to decide the ownerhip of the land in dispute on the Lekki-Epe Expressway, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, in his favour; so is the officer. While the case is on, court orders are said to have been flouted, reports SEYI ODEWALE.
The sleepy, bushy and serene settlements of Ofiran and Aiyeteju villages in the neighbourhood of the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) could have remained in oblivion, despite the rate of development in the Lekki/Ajah corridor of Lagos State, but for the litigation on a parcel of land. The suit involves a real estate firm, Meridian Properties Limited, linked to a popular television evangelist and Senior Pastor, Kings International Christian Centre (KICC), Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo who has been served an Order of Cmmittal to prison proceedings for allegedly disobeying the order of an Ikeja High Court, Lagos Judicial Division to maintain the status quo on the land pending the determination of the substantive suit on a disputed land in the villages. Ashimolowo, who is said to be a director on the board of the firm and the claimant in the suit, allegedly flouted the court order.
He was said to have been served forms 48 and 49 (notice of consequence of disobedience to court order and notice to show why order of committal) shoukl not be made against him, for not complying with the order of the court in the suit filed by his company.
The firm is said to have sought the leave of an Ikeja High Court in the Lagos Judicial Division presided over by Justice Atinuke Ipaye to stop an Army Captain, E. Ugoh, attached to the Army School of Logistics, Ikeja, Lagos State from trespassing on its 26,486 hectares of land in Ofiran Village, on the Lekki/Epe Expressway, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State.
The said land, the firm claimed, was acquired in stages from land owning families of the village and let into possession and “had since remained in effective possession from time of purchase from sometimes in 2003 till date.”
Meridian Properties Limited, through its counsel, Dapo Opakunle explained how the land was acquired. It said in its claim that 50 acres were bought from the Ilari Ogun family of Ofiran Village in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State at N30 million; eight acres were also said to have been bought from the Oduntan family of the same village at N12.6 million; six acres were equally bought at N15 million from the Kafaru family of the same village and three acres from Alimi family of Igando Onnudu Town, Ibeju-Lekki at N5.4 million.
Upon buying the land, according to the firm’s counsel, “the claimant was put into immediate possession and had since been exercising full rights of ownership of the subject matter of this suit till date.”
The land in question, according to the firm, was covered by Survey Plan No OJL/56a-c/89 dated 10th of September, 1989, signed by a licensed surveyor, O.A Ojo.
The firm averred in its 26-paragraph claim, among others, that in its bid to construct housing units to be called Baron Estate on the said land, it cleared the place and commenced work on the site. However, the firm said sometime in February this year construction workers on the land were accosted and chased away by Captain Ugoh’s men, who later erected a “Military Zone Keep Off” sign on the land.
But the sign was removed, according to the firm, and work continued on the land. “The claimant is not aware that the Military Barracks and formation close to the area have anything to do with the claimant’s land and so the claimant removed the sign post and continued its construction work.”
The firm said it was shocked on March 1, this year, to see the said land invaded by soldiers, caterpillars and bulldozers to demolish structures being built on the land.
With all these claims, the firm has sought the order of the court in a two-paragraph declaration that: “It is the bona fide owner of the land measuring 26,486 hectares situate at Ofiran Village, which is covered by various Deeds of Assignments and Memorandum of Sale and represented in Survey Plan no OJL/56a-c/89 dated the 10th day of September, 1989, signed by Surveyor O.A Ojo. It said the act of entering its land by the defendant without its consent or authority and subsequent demolition of its structures, properties and fence without a court order is unlawful and a trespass by the defendant.
It then asked for the “order of the court to award N50 million damages against the defendant for trespassing and demolition of its properties; award another N50 million against the defendant as specific damages for destroying its properties and a perpetual order of injunction to restrain the defendant, his privies, assigns, workmen or any person whosoever, from acting for him from further entering or trespassing the said land.”
The defendant in his statement of defence denied every claim by the claimant, from paragraph 1 to 26. He went further to correct the claim that the said land is located in Ofiran.
“The defendant states in further denial of paragraph 3 of the statement of claim that the land in dispute is located at Alfa Alamo in Aiyeteju Village, Lagos-Epe Express Road, Ibeju/Lekki Local Government, Lagos and not Ofiran.”
The Captain in his 17-paragraph defence said, among others, that “the land previously belonged to his late father, Mr. Nze Vitalis Ugoh; that his father bought the land from Oyafunke family in 1990 after he had relocated from Maroko and Oyafunke family of Aiyeteju Village issued him a receipt; that the land was surveyed by W.T Adeniji, a surveyor and boundary marks and pillars were erected on the land with Survey Plan no WAT/LA/1095/96 inscribed on them.”
He also said that “his late father relocated to his village in 1993 as a result of old age and handed over the land to him and the Power of Attorney in respect of the property.”
He said upon enquiry from the Oyafunke family from whom his father bought the land, he discovered that the Ofiran Village from whom the claimant alleged that it bought the land in dispute from, has no land on the Lagos-Epe Expressway.
“The defendant states that upon enquiry from Oyafunke family, he discovered that the Ofiran Village from whom the claimant alleged that it purchased the land in dispute has no land along the Lagos-Epe Expressway. The Ofiran Village is about four kilometres away from the land in dispute. The vast area of land along the Lagos-Epe Expressway belongs to Oyafunke family of Aiyeteju Village, while the Ofiran land is located in the interior behind Aiyeteju Village,” the statement of defence said.
But while the two parties were advancing their claims and defences, 11 other persons in a motion on notice, applied to be joined as applicants. They are Chief Ganiyu Raji (Baale of Ofiran); Alhaji Adio Shittu; Mr Olusegun Busari and Mr Ganiyu Tijani for themselves and on behalf of Ilari Ogun family.
Others are: Pa Sule Kafaru, head of Kafaru family, representing himself and the family; Mr Lasisi Olooto; Mr Muyideen Tijani, representing himself and Alimi family; Mr Omodele Oyafunke; Mr Theophilus Oyafunke and Chief Taiwo Oyafunke representing themselves and the Oyafunke family.
In their 31-paragraph affidavit to support their motion they said around 2001/2002 one Alhaji Olatunji Adenuga, who claimed to be a surveyor, approached them for a survey to be carried out on their land in Ofiran Village. Ofiran Village, according to them, is behind Aiyeteju Village, towards Marine River.
The man, they said, later told them about a man who was interested in their land.
“Alhaji Olatunji Adenuga later told us about a prospective buyer of land in person of Adedeji Obisanya. We welcome the idea, but when he said that they needed 50 acres of land along Lagos-Epe Express Road, we told him that we do not have land along the Express road. The small land we have is behind the land in dispute and which is for our farming and personal use only,” they said.
They continued: “Alhaji Olatunji Adenuga pointed to the land where we assembled for that meeting in Alfa Alamo, but we told him that the land belongs to Aiyeteju Village as Ofiran Village does not have land along the Express road, but farm land behind the express road.”
These persons said they later discovered that the prospective buyer that Alhaji Adenuga was representing was the claimant. The said Adenuga was later reported dead some months later.
They also said they told the claimant’s representative that Ofiran Village does not have up to 50 acres of land on the expressway
“We informed the claimant that the land along the express road belonged to Aiyeteju Village and that Ofiran Village land is located behind Aiyeteju
They further said they “never assigned or handed over any land to the claimant in this case. We did not sign any Deed of Assignment in favour of the claimant The land in dispute does not belong to Ofiran Village and Ofiran Village did not sell the land to the claimant; the signatures of the Applicants (their signatures) on the Deeds of Assignment pleaded by the claimant, particularly, that of the 1st Applicant, were forged; the Ofiran land, which the claimant negotiated for is different from the land in dispute and the land is far away from the land in dispute and the claim by the claimant that the Ofiran Village sold the land in dispute to the claimant is false and fraudulent because the land in dispute does not belong to Ofiran Village, but belongs to Oyafunke family of Aiyeteju Village.”
The claimant, it was said, flouted the orders of the court asking the parties to maintain the status quo. It went ahead to develop the land which necessitated the issuance of form 48 by the court. Justice Ipaye had ordered on July 3, this year, “that an order for the accelerated hearing of the claims be and is hereby made in lieu of the Motion on Notice for temporary restraining order dated 08/03/13; it is further ordered that parties maintain status quo before the beginning of hostilities namely: the claimant being in possession shall remain in possession and maintain her presence on the subject property as delineated on Survey Plan No 03l/56 A-C 89 Dated 10/09/1999 prepared by a licensed Surveyor, O.A Ojo.
While adjourning the case, the 11 applicants that wished to be joined in the suit were also asked to keep off the land pending the hearing and determination of the claims.”
The grounds upon which Pastor Ashimolowo was issued forms 48 and 49 are that, despite the forms served on him, the firm still continued with its construction on the property, “the subject matter of the suit, in flagrant disobedience of the status quo order made by the court.”
The case has since been assigned to Justice Morenike Obadina for further adjudication.
