Justice Friday Nkemakonam Ogazi of a Lagos Federal High Court on Friday restrained Mr Sola Jejeloye, chairman Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit, popularly called Taskforce, from further arresting, detaining, investigating, inviting, intimidating, threatening, incarcerating, harassing, charging, or taking any untoward action against a realtor, Mr. Olasheni Johnson Adeyinka and others, pending the hearing and determination of the originating motion on a land issue.
Others affected by Justice Ogazi’s order are the Commissioner of Police, Lagos; Chief of Staff to the Lagos State Governor, Mr Tayo Ayinde; a business tycoon, Prince Samuel Adedoyin; Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Nigerian Police Force (NPF) Deputy Inspector General of Police FCID, Abuja; and one SP Salako, who was listed as the second to ninth respondents in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/80/2024.
Justice Ogazi imposed the restrained others on the respondents while granting an ex parte motion filed by Barrister Yakubu Eleto on behalf of the applicants but moved by Barrister Olalekan Ogunbunmi.
Other petitioners in the suit include Obimzy Property and Development, Boluwatife Realtor, Olushola Samuel Olupitan, Akintayo Babayemi, and BSF Homes.
Barrister Olalekan urged the court to grant the restraining order, citing sections 33, 34, 35, 36, 41, and 46 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, Order IV Rules 3 and 4(iv)(v) of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009, and Order 11 of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009.
The lawyer further informed the court that the motion ex parte is supported by a 47-paragraph affidavit attested to by the first petitioner, Olasheni Johnson Adeyinka, the Realtor of Silver Spring Estate, Idado, Agungi, Eti-Osa in Lagos State.
After hearing from the petitioners’ lawyers, Justice Ogazi issued the restraint order, which will remain in effect until the substantive suit is heard and determined.
The judge then deferred the suit until February 12 for a hearing.
The applicants stated in the affidavit deposed to by the first applicant, Mr. Olasheni Johnson Adeyinka, Realtor of Silver Spring Estate, Idado, Agungi, Lagos, that the third to sixth applicants are individuals who purchased land from the first and second applicants but have been denied access to their properties by the first to fourth respondents without a court order.
The deponent went on to say that the fifth respondent is one of those clients who purchased land from the first and second applicants and who forcefully collected the sum of N180 million from the first and second applicants using the first and third respondents, and threatened to collect another N480 million from the first and second applicants if they did not pay him his balance.
“That the Applicants are the rightful owners of 6922, 733 square metres of land located along Augustina Orji Street, within Ojomu Chieftaincy Family Land, Oke Arin Village Mayeigun Eti Osa Local Government, Lagos State, purchased from Oba Tijani Adetunji Akinloye (Head of Family) and Alhaji Yekini Olawale Bakare (Principal Member).
“That the first and second applicants paid N50 million for the said land, which is located along Augustina Orji Street, within Ojomu Chieftaincy Family Land, Oke Arin Village Mayegun, Eti Osa Local Government, Lagos State. A deed of assignment was prepared in respect of the said land.
“That upon the payment of the substantial purchase price by the first and second applicants, they proceeded to process the Governor’s Consent with the Lagos State Land Registry, Lagos state to register the Deed of Assignment.
“That three years after the purchase of the said land, the applicant obtained the Governor’s consent over the said property situate being and lying along. Augustina Orji Street, within Ojomu Chieftaincy Family Land, Oke Arin Village Mayeign Eti Osa Local Government, Lagos State.
“That sometime late last year, the agent of the fifth respondent approached the first and second applicants to propose his interest to purchase three plots of land out of the applicant’s land situated and lying along Augustina Orji Street, within Ojomu Chieftaincy Family Land, Oke Arin Village Mayeign Eti Osa Local Government, Lagos State.
“The first and second applicants honoured the fifth respondent an elderly man by meeting with him at his Abode in Victoria Island to discuss further the proposed price of the said three plots of land and he searched the property which confirmed that the property was genuine and good for sale.
“That however, the first and second applicants further agreed with the fifth respondent and he paid the sum of N407 million, out of N447 million. Upon the payment, the first and second applicants gave the fifth respondent his portion of land as agreed upon by them and the land survey was drawn by the first and second applicants in respect of the portion assigned to the fifth respondent.
“That after the commencement of work on the said land, the first respondent came to the land without just cause or court order and stopped the workers working on the land directing the land owners to resume to his office with the necessary document to ascertain ownership over the said land.
“That following from his request, the first and second applicants resumed to the first respondent’s office with the necessary documents, including the Governor’s Consent in respect of the property and gave same to the first respondent. The first respondent further stated that the land was worth N3 billion, in a bid to request money from the first and second applicants.
“The first respondent was thereafter taken to the office of the third respondent and detained for Five days from January 8 to 13, January 2024, he was even threatened that he was going to be remanded in the custody of the third respondent until he relinquished his land bought by his hard-earned money to President Bola Tinubu.
“Suddenly the fifth respondent showed up through his lawyer and requested that the first and second applicants return his money that the property was not genuine that they needed to settle the police that the first and second applicants should go and look for the sum of N300 million, to settle the police so that the police can be swayed from disturbing them over the said property and the applicant under duress was forced to transfer in total the sum of N100 million to the fifth respondents.
“That | was taken in the middle of the night to the house of the fifth respondent to sign that I was going to refund the purchase price of the land to the fifth respondent. And that I was made to sign the undertaken under duress and torture from the office of the first to third respondents and I was forced to transfer an additional N80 million to the account provided by the fifth respondent in the middle of the night in the absence of my lawyer and my family members.
“I was also whisked from the fifth applicant’s house to my house at Agungi and the fifth respondent forced me to sign further undertaken that he was going to take over my property worth close to N500 million if I fail to balance him in two months.
“That I was mercilessly tortured in the custody of the first to third respondents that I became hospitalized. Adding that before I returned from the custody of the first to third respondents, the first respondents already took over my property in a COMMANDO way without a court order or cause to stir violence in the community.
“That the first respondent has been carrying out lots of frivolous investigation against the first and second applicants, the first applicant does not have any trust in the first respondents who have no capacity of doing justice as he is already seen as biased.
“That the first respondent had threatened to harm the applicants that he has the backing of President Tinubu and his son, and that they both co-own the land despite the first and second applicants having Governors’ Consent on the land in question. And that the first, third and fourth respondents have threatened and vowed to use the agents and operatives of the second respondent to harass, arrest, and detain the applicants if he continues to lay claim to the property, he has the Governor’s Consent on.
“That the armed operatives and agents of the first respondent in the company of the second and third respondents allowed the adverse party to take possession of the property and turned the place upside down without cause or court order under the disguise of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, immediately the first applicant was arrested by the operatives of the second and third respondents between January 8 to 13, 2024.
“That operatives of the first respondent have vowed to either have the applicant arrested and detained for a long time or fabricate a trumped-up charge against them and have them killed in custody if they continue to lay claim to the land. And that the agents of the respondents particularly the first and second respondents had openly told the applicant that he would continue to investigate them until he found fault which would culminate in taking them behind bars until they stopped laying claim to the land belonging to the applicant.
“That the applicant has been suffering psychological trauma and pains as a result of the continuous investigation of the Applicant and the applicant was detained for five days without just cause or any reason known to law.
“That the agents of the first respondent are being used by some shadow people to continue to threaten to arrest, detain, and incarcerate the applicants without cause. And that we have no confidence in the outcome of the investigation carried out by the first respondent and that we have not committed any offence known to the law that will warrant the likely breach of our right to life, personal liberty, freedom of movement and dignity of the human person.
“That the continued investigation by the first respondent’s threat has greatly affected our businesses, life and health. And that if the reliefs in this application are not granted, I and other applicants will further be arrested, humiliated, incarcerated, detained, harassed and dehumanized without cause.
“That it is in the interest of justice that this application be heard urgently. And that I undertake to pay damages if this Honorable Court discovers that this application ought not to be granted.”
