Land Grabbing: Elegushi Family Petitions Army Over Alleged Threat To Life
The royal family of Elegushi of Ikateland has petitioned the Nigerian Army over threat to life and encroachment to its ancestral land by an Army Brigadier General.
Legit.ng reports that Elegushi, in a petition by its lawyer MA Omotayo of Bandele Omotayo & co stated that the family of Elegushi frowned at the attempt to use the personnel from the Army Signal, Apapa to unleash mayhem on its clients.
Source: Facebook
In a petition titled: “Assault, harassment, intimidation, threat to snuff out life by military riffles and the use of Nigerian Army weapons/equipment to unleash terror and wrestle land at Itedo, Lagos state and abuse of office by Brig Gen. YO Zubair of Nigerian Army signal base, Apapa, Lagos state,” the lawyer said the army officer was aware there is judgement in favour of his client by the Lagos state High court.
He said:
“Irrespective of the fact that he has knowledge that there is JUDGEMENT in favour of our client by the Lagos State High Court, where Brigadier General Y.O Subair’s principal, Toluwaleke Megba and their family members known as Itedo community, declared trespassers on the land. The said Brig Gen Zubair accompanied by some of his men attacked Chief Ogunyemi at his personal office along Admiralty Way, Lekki On July 16th 2022.
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"The petition a copy of which was obtained by our Correspondent stated that Toluwaleke Megba having lost in court on several occasions engaged the services of Brig Gen Zubair to illegally use the Nigerian Army to “unleash terror, assault, harass, intimidate assault, coerce Our Client in order to grab Our Client’s land at Itedo, in the Eti Osa local government area of Lagos state.”
"Omotayo stated that all the cases instituted by the Toluwaleke Megba Family over the ownership of the land has been decided in favour of the Elegushi Family, wondering why Nigerian Army should be dragged into civil matters."
The petition letter read in part:
Assault, harassment, intimidation, threat to snuff out life with military riffles and the use of Nigeria Army weapons/equipment to unleash terror & wrestle land at Itedo, Lagos state and abuse of office by Brigadier General Y.O Zubair of Nigeria Army signal base Apapa Lagos state.
We are solicitors to Elegushi royal family & in particular Chief Elegushi Ifasegun, the Opemolua of Ikate Land, Elegushi Property Investment Company and Chief John Ogunyemi, the Baale of Itedo (herein after called “Our Client”) and on whose instruction we write to register our client’s protest and raise serious objection to use of Nigeria Army Signal Base/Authority, Apapa, Lagos State to unleash terror, assault, harass, intimidate assault, coerce Our Client in order to grab our client’s land at Itedo, in the Eti Osa local government Area of Lagos State irrespective of the fact that he has knowledge that there is JUDGEMENT in favour of Our Client by the LAGOS STATE HIGH COURT, where Brigadier General Y.O Subair’s Principal, Toluwaleke Megba and their family members known as Itedo community, declared trespassers on the land.
Our Client, Elegushi Royal Family including Chief Elegushi Ifasegun and Elegushi Property Investment company are the owners of all land in the Ikate Elegushi Kingdom which includes Itedo, Gbara, Igbokushu, Iroko-Awe, Ilasan, Ologolo, Igbo Olube, Alajapa and Aro all in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State. The Ownership of the which has been stamped with the force of the law in different cases up to the Supreme in;
(a) Suit No. SC/29/75: CITY PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT LIMITED VS. AG LAGOS STATE, ONIKOYI CHIEFTAINCY FAMILY & 2 OTHERS delivered on the 30th day of January 1976
(b) Suit No. CA/L/80/87 PRINCE OKANLAWON AJAIYI VS. MUTIU S. ELEGUSHI & ORS. Delivered on the 1st day of February 1989.
(c) Suit No. LD/1686/2005: CHIEF PATRICK IBIKUNLE FAFUNWA ONIKOYI & 3 ORS. V. A.G, LAGOS STATE AND OBA YEKINI ELEGUSHI & ORS delivered on the 10th day of July, 2006
(d) SUIT NO. LD/2275/96 BETWEEN MOST REV. APST. ZEBULON HARRISON IKUEGBOWO & ORS. V. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF LAGOS STATE & ORS (the suit which deals specifically with the land in this suit and between the same parties herein to mention a few. Attached herewith and marked ANNEXURES BO1(a) –(d) are copies of the Judgements.
SUIT NO. LD/2275/96 BETWEEN MOST REV. APST. ZEBULON HARRISON IKUEGBOWO &ORS. V. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF LAGOS STATE & ORS was instituted by Brigadier Subair’s Principal seeking to be declared owners of the land and other relieves sought.
The Honorable Court in its judgement in delivered on the 29th day of November 2016 by Hon. Justice T.A.O Oyekan Abdullahi Our Client were adjudged owners of Itedo land and village as against Brigadier Subair’s Principal and his family who were customary tenants of Our Client on the land including the shoreline.
All sales by Subair’s Principal on Itedo land were declared NULL & VOID and possession of all land granted to Our Client. Subair’s Principal and their Privies including Subair were restrained perpetually by from committing further acts of trespass on the land.
Prince Toluwaleke Megba and others (Brigadier General Y.O Subair’s Principal) having lost in Court by judgment stated above filed a suit against Our Client at the Federal High Court before Honourable Justice M. S. Hassan of the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division in suit FHC/L/CS/655/2017: PRINCE TOLUWALEKE MEGBA & LUCKY MEGBA OJONLA NIG LIMITED VS. NATIONAL INLAND WATERWAYS AUTHORITY (NIWA) & SIX OTHERS concerning a purported permit granted by National Inland Waterways and again lost dismissing the claim of Brigadier Subair’s Principal the Honorable Court in a well-considered ruling on the 23rd day of January, 2019 held that I have carefully examined the Statement of Claim and I do not see any legal nexus between the Plaintiffs and the 4th and 5th Defendants/Applicants in this matter.
I am in agreement with the submission of Learned Counsel for the 4th and 5th Defendants/Applicants that since the permit agreement granted to the Plaintiff expired in 2014, the Plaintiffs do not have any extant permit that can serve as the basis of their action against the Defendants” Attached judgement marked ANNEXURE BO3.
Source: Legit.ng
