Akeem Nafiu 
A firm, Associated Property Development Company Ltd, has taken possession of a property situated at 2A Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos following an order of a Federal High Court in Lagos.
The order was made on September 13, 2023, by Justice Akintayo Aluko against six defendants/respondents – who were said to be in alleged unlawful occupation – following an ex parte application by the firm.
The judge who is sitting as a vacation judge made the order after hearing Abubakar Shamsudeen for the plaintiff/applicant who argued that the property is being occupied illegally by the defendants upon an order obtained the defendant from a Lagos High Court in flagrant disobedient to an existing order of Justice Daniel Osiagor which was executed on the 24th of July, 2023.
The first to sixth defendants/respondents are; the Federal Ministry of Communications and Technology, Otunba Olusola Adekanola, Nigeria Telecommunications Ltd, Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Implementation Committee on Alienation of Federal Government Property and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The order, among others, restrained the 2nd and 3rd Defendants (Otunba Adekanola, Nigeria Telecommunications), their principal, Bureau of Public Enterprises and any person acting on their behalf “including the Inspector-General of Police and all its subordinates from parading themselves as the new owners of the property at 2A Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos State pending the full resumption of continuation of hearing of the substantive suit by the regular Court and hearing of motion on notice filed on 17th May.”
It also restrained the defendants from collecting any rent or further rent or charges or from ejecting, evicting or in any manner whatsoever disturbing or further disturbing the quiet possession and enjoyment of the applicant’s tenants from the property.
The firm, as plaintiff/respondent in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/4767/2008 executed the order on the Foreshore Towers premises comprising among others, the high-rise and Pee Galleria Shopping Mall buildings.
Associated Property Development Company Ltd’s Human Resources/Admin Manager, Mrs Joyce Ogala, who executed the order alongside court officials, noted that some of the property had been vandalised allegedly during the respondents’ occupation.
She stated that this was the second time the premises would be “invaded” after a previous court order sacking the defendants from the property.
Ogala said: “On the 24th of July, we were here to carry out the first execution based on the court order that was given, but on the 28th of August, we had a re-invasion by the said BPE and Co.
“They took over the property and they’ve been here for a while. But today, thank God we have a court order of September 13, 2023, and we’ve executed it.
“It is disheartening to see what has happened in our offices. All the doors that we locked at the close of work were all broken and accessed, the access control to our offices was all broken and destroyed completely, and the access security doors were broken and destroyed completely for us to witness this, to see that things that we kept intact were vandalised by the said party.
“CCTV cameras on the building were bound by them, so we unbound them. Some CCTVs in our personal offices were damaged or destroyed. At the penthouse, we found out that cutting machines and some fuses were missing from that office. So, a lot of damage occurred.
“We can’t quantify the damages right now, but we are sure that by the time we settle in gradually, we will know the extent of the damages.
“The order of September 13 has been served on all the parties and they’ve received it”.
Further hearing in the matter has been fixed for October 30.
