A property dispute involving Ojo Local Government has taken a fresh twist after a property owner alleged that officials of the council demolished structures on a disputed parcel of land despite a subsisting judgment of the Lagos State High Court declaring him the lawful occupier and restraining further trespass.
The claimant, Alhaji Ibrahim Abubakar, alleged that at about 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, the Personal Assistant to the Chairman of Ojo Local Government, accompanied by police officers and suspected thugs, supervised the demolition of his property located at Alaba International Market without any court order.
Abubakar said the demolition allegedly took place despite a judgment delivered on February 6, 2025, by Justice S. I. Sonaike of the Lagos State High Court in Suit No. BD/1020LMW/2015, which he said affirmed his ownership of the disputed land.
According to the judgment, the court declared that Abubakar is entitled to the statutory right of occupancy over the parcel of land measuring approximately 1,679.177 square metres, situated behind Alaba Market, Oniba Road, Sabo Oniba Town, Ojo Area of Lagos State, and covered by Certificate of Occupancy No. 80 at Page 80 in Volume 2007 AC.
The court also ordered that the claimant be restored to possession of the portion of the land found to have been trespassed upon and granted a perpetual injunction restraining Ojo Local Government, its agents, servants and assigns from committing further acts of trespass on the property.
Justice Sonaike further awarded Abubakar ₦1 million in damages after holding that he had established exclusive possession of the property before what the court described as the defendants’ unjustifiable intrusion, entry and destruction. Although the claimant sought ₦20 million in damages, the court awarded ₦1 million while granting the declaratory and injunctive reliefs sought.
Court records show that the suit was instituted on June 26, 2015, with the claimant seeking declarations of title, repossession of the land, a perpetual injunction and damages for alleged trespass.
Reacting to Wednesday’s demolition, Abubakar alleged that although the defendants filed a notice of appeal against the judgment, they had not taken further steps to prosecute the appeal. He also claimed that the defendants filed an application for stay of execution, which is still pending before the court.
According to him, rather than await the determination of the pending application or pursue the appeal, officials of the local government allegedly resorted to self-help.
“Our client obtained a valid judgment in respect of the property. Although the defendants filed a notice of appeal, they have not taken any further steps to prosecute it,” the claimant said.
“They also filed an application for stay of execution, which is still pending before the court. Instead of allowing the court to determine the pending processes, they went onto the land and demolished our client’s property. The Personal Assistant to the Chairman of Ojo Local Government allegedly led police officers and suspected thugs to the site and carried out the demolition without any court order.”
The claimant maintained that the demolition was carried out in disregard of the subsisting judgment, which affirmed his title to the land and restrained the defendants from further acts of trespass.
As of the time of filing this report, Ojo Local Government and the Nigeria Police Force had not responded to the allegations.
