The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike has ordered the demolition of a property next door to the Abuja residence of the Chief of Staff to the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The property, which is owned by Schroeder Nigeria Limited, is located at Maitama District.
Controversy over the demolition has, however, been brought to the attention of President Bola Tinubu.
Disputation over the land began last year, October 4, when the former Minister of the FCT, Mallam Muhammad Bello and officials of the Federal Capital Development Authority,FCDA, invaded the property.
It was gathered that a day after the invasion, on October 5, the then Minister gave an order to the FCDA to seal off the property and also deposited a detachment of mobile policemen to lock out construction workers from gaining entry into the property.
It was gathered that the sealing off of the property was without prior notice of infraction.
Consequently, the owners of the property caused a legal action of trespass and unlawful occupation against the Minister of the FCT and the FCDA.
The lawsuit was filed on October 10, 2022 and numbered FCT/HC/CV/3449/2022 between Schroeder Nigeria Limited and the Minister of FCT before Justice Abubakar Hussain Musa of the FCT High Court.
Judgment in the case by Justice Abubakar Hussain Musa was entered on April 4, this year in favour of the complainant.
The trial judge in his verdict sais: “That an order of perpetual injunction is hereby made restraining the defendants from further interfering with the 1st Claimant’s lawful use, quiet possession, occupation of the plot.
“That the forceful take over and occupation of the property by the defendants on the 5th day of October 2022 constitutes an act of trespass.
“That the defendants are hereby ordered to vacate with immediate effect, the Claimant’s property, unseal the property and to remove forthwith the mobile policemen they had unlawfully and illegally installed on the property since on the 5th day of October, 2022”.
It was gathered that neither the Minister of the FCT nor the FCDA appealed the judgment of the High Court even as the FCDA refused to comply with the order of the court in removing the seal order on the property.
A new twist was made to the controversy when on September 19, the new Minister of the FCT, Wike invaded the property with bulldozers to bring it down without a prior notice of demolition and in direct violation of the April 4, 2023 judgment of the court
It was gathered that the machinery deployed to pull down the property failed to accomplish the task because of the structural fortification on the property, a development that was said to have infuriated Wike who then ordered that the property should be razed to the ground.
The expansive property, which is a next-door neighbour to Gbajabiamila, was eventually brought down on Thursday, 28 September.
Sources who worked on the property said that the property had been there long before Gbajabiamila assumed occupancy of his property in 2019 when he was Speaker of the House of Representatives.
An SOS letter that was written to President Tinubu on the controversy, dated September 26, read in part: “Our earlier letters to the Honourable Minister of the FCT on the referenced respectively dated 14 October, 2022 and 19 April, 2023 refer.
“On the 5th day of October, 2022, the plot was sealed off by men of the Nigeria Police Force who remained posted on the plot on the apparent directive of the Honourable Minister of the FCT who had visited the property earlier on the 4th October, 2022.
“We must state right away that the demolition of our client’s property from the 19th September, 2023 is unlawful, contemptuous, brazen and a volte-face sabotage of every tenets of the rule of law to which your excellency swore to extol.
“Your Excellency, our client’s title to the referenced property is unencumbered. The development of the plot was with approvals from the FCDA.
“Upon reasonable apprehension of infraction on our right to the referenced property, our clients commenced suit challenging the unlawful seal, and post of men of the Nigeria Police Force on its property as well as seeking perpetual injunctions, restraining the Minister of FCT and the FCDA from trespassing on our client’s property.
“Judgment was delivered by the High Court of the FCT in favour of our client on the 4th day of April 2023 whereof the court granted the reliefs sought by our client.
“It was following the referenced judgment of the court that the Inspector General of Police directed the unsealing of our client’s property by men of the Nigeria Police Force.
“It is significant to mention that the Honourable Minister of the FCT and the FCDA were all represented by Counsels in the litigation process. It is even more significant to mention that in the Defence of the Minister of FCT and FCDA, it was admitted that our client’s title to property is unencumbered. No infraction whatsoever was alleged in the joint defence.
“Upon arrival at the site of the 19th of September 2023, when the demolition commenced, our client confronted the Director, Development Control of the FCDA who was supervising the demolition, with the referenced judgment of the court on the subject-matter.
“The Director expressed regrets and stated that if he had remembered the judgment, he would not have commenced the demolition and quickly aborted further demolition of the property.
“Sadly, the FCDA returned to the property on the 21st September 2023 and continued with the demolition.
“We humbly seek the intervention of Your Excellency to stop the Honourable Minister of the FCT brazen affront, indiscretion and utter desecration to the rule of law and direct reimbursement to our client.”
