Alleged demolition: Court reserves ruling on former Ogun deputy speaker’s property

An Ikeja High Court has reserved ruling in a case filed by Mr Edward Ayo-Odugbesan, former Deputy Speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly.

Ayo-Odugbesan, is seeking a court order to prevent Agege Local Government and two other parties from further demolishing his property located at No. 47, Old Ogba Road, Agege, Lagos.

Justice Abdulfattah Lawal, on Tuesday, reserved the ruling after hearing arguments from the claimant’s counsel, Dr Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, and the respondent’s counsel, Mr Maruf Jimoh-Akogun.

The judge, after hearing the arguments, held that the date for ruling would be communicated to the parties.

The claimants, Ayo-Odugbesan, his wife Adefunmilayo and Edwards Private School, had sued the Chairman of Agege Local Government, Mr Kola Egunjobi, Agege Local Government and the Registrar of Titles, Lagos State, as the first to third respondents.

The claimants are seeking an order of the court to prevent the respondents from disturbing their peaceful possession of the property.

At the resumed hearing of the case on Tuesday, Pinheiro urged the court to restrain the respondents from interfering with the claimants’ possession of the property until the case was resolved.

He argued that the claimants had occupied the disputed property peacefully for over 20 years without interference until the second respondent’s alleged demolition of the property without a court order.

He further argued that the decision for the demolition was taken at a meeting held at the council secretariat.

The plaintiff’s counsel therefore urged the court to grant an order compelling all parties to refrain from taking actions that could affect the subject during the pendency of the case.

According to him, once a case is before a court of competent jurisdiction, actions that can prejudice the final outcome must cease.

However, Jimoh-Akogun in his response, argued that on Oct. 3, 2024, when the claimants filed suit no. ID/8582GCM/2024, seeking to preserve the property, the second respondent had already taken possession of the land in question.

He argued that the disputed land was part of a larger area designated by the Lagos State Government in the 1980s for the proposed Ajangbandu Market, which covered 1.698 hectares.

He added that due to the abandonment of the project, trespassers occupied part of the land, leading the Lagos State Government’s revocation of the occupancy rights in 1996.

Jimoh-Akogun, thereafter, urged the court to dismiss the claimants’ application.

“The Lagos State Government had issued a Notice of Revocation of Right of Occupancy, nullifying any claims by the trespassers.

“The first respondent has no personal interest in the disputed land and acted solely in his official capacity as chairman of the local government,” he told the court.

Supreme news reports that the former deputy speaker had on Nov.7, 2024, through an interlocutory application, dragged the respondents to court over the alleged demolition.