Land Invasion: Court Asked To Jail Ex Lagos Task Force Head , Two Others
A notice of consequences of disobedience to order of court has been filed before a Lagos State high Court against a one time head of the Lagos State Task Force, Engineer Peter Omotosho, STARMARK Finance Company Limited and one other defendant over their alleged flagrant disobedience to the court order restraining them from trespassing on a land belonging to a medical doctor in Lekki area of the state.
disobedience to the order of court delivered by Justice Akinkunmi O. Idowu.
The motion for consequence to disobedience to court order was coming as the Court was prayed to restrain the law firm of Lawal Pedro (SAN) & Associates from representing one of the defendants, STARMARK Finance Company Limited.
In a suit, Dr. Ademola, the Claimant was praying the court to order the law firm of the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice “to withdraw its representation for the 1st Defendant (the Company) in the suit on the ground of conflict of interest.”
The Claimant also praying the court to set “aside the order for change of counsel of the 1st Defendant to the Law firm of Lawal Pedro (SAN) & Associates granted on the 18th February, 2025.”
Earlier, the court has granted an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the “Defendants/Respondents whether by themselves, their servants, or agents or privies or otherwise, whosoever from trespassing, harassing, or going into the land or carrying out any activities whatsoever on the land, lying and situate at Plot 1, Block 4, Lekki Peninsula, Scheme 1, Admiralty Road, Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State measuring 1, 147.124 square metres vide Deed of Assignment registered as No. 69, page 69, in Volume 2741 of the Land Registry, Ikeja, Lagos State, pending the hearing and determination of the suit.”
The court also granted: “An order for interlocutory injunction restraining the Defendants/Respondents whether by themselves, their servants, or agents or privies or otherwise, whosoever from using force, thugs, the Police and other agencies of the Government to harass, intimidate, break into the Claimant’s property lying and situate at Plot 1, Block 4, Lekki Peninsula, Scheme 1, Admiralty Road, Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State measuring 1,147.124 square meters vide Deed of Assignment registered as No.69, Page 69, in Volume 2741 of the Land Registry, Ikeja, Lagos State, pending the hearing and determination of the Suit.”
The Claimant claimed that in spite of the subsistence of the court order, the Defendants/ Respondents continue to use police and other spurious means to invade the land and disturb the owner and his workers from peaceful enjoyment of his property.
Dr Ojo’s lawyer stated, “Shockingly, despite the court’s injunction and the Director of Public Prosecution’s advice for prosecution of the alleged offenders, the land grabbers continue their attempts to seize the property. They have employed the service of Police several times, which we resisted, realizing that we have genuine documents and court order over the said parcel of land.”
Already, the matter has been adjourned till April 10, 2025 when the court would probably hear the Claimant/Applicant’s application for committal after the filing of Form 49, a committal proceeding against the Respondents.
It could be recalled that the medical doctor had cried out to the authorities concerned including President Bola Tinubu, Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwoolu, the Inspector General of Police, calling for their urgent intervention following an alleged forceful and illegal planned takeover of his land in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
Dr. Ojo, who was working towards building a world-class specialist hospital for the benefit of Lagosians and Nigerians in Lagos, revealed that his investment and life are under serious threat due to the actions of the suspected land grabbers and land speculators who hell bent of taken over his legitimate property.
According to Dr. Ojo, he legally purchased the land located on Admiralty Road, Lekki Phase 1, from Churchgate Nigeria Ltd in 2020, and duly perfected the title by obtaining the Governor’s consent and registering the land at the Bureau of Lands, Lagos State.
Through his lawyer, Mr Ayodele Osanyinlusi stated that his client secured the necessary building approvals from the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) and Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPA) apart from the Certificate of Occupancy issued in covering the land dated 16th, January, 1990 which gave him the authority to commence the building of his hospital.
Mr Osanyinlusi stated that the problem started in 2023, when construction began on the hospital project, and about 15 armed policemen accompanied by thugs allegedly stormed the site, violently evicting workers and claiming to be operatives of the Lagos State Task Force, without any verifiable documents or title to the property.
The lawyer said that it’s the immediate intervention by Dr. Ojo’s attorney, Mr. Ademola Ekundayo, that led to the discovery through the Police that the invaders were not indeed from the Lagos State Task Force, prompting their withdrawal.
Mr Ayodele Osanyinlusi expressed dismay that despite Maroko Police division intervention, the court order and the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP’s advice dated 15th, August, 2024 and 30th December, 2024, the harassment from the land speculators persisted.
“They returned, broke into the site, vandalized the property, and carted away building materials worth over N30 million Naira,” Mr Osanyinlusi added.
The lawyer stated that the case was later escalated to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex in Alagbon, but efforts to halt the illegal activities faced more challenges, as they were using several falsehood to invite police from several locations to intimidate the occupants on the land.
