Justice Oyindamola Ogala of Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja will today, March 10, hear a land dispute between Adamakin Investment and Works Limited and Lagos State government over the ownership and administrative control of a large expanse of land linked to the Efunroye Tinubu Estate.
In a suit marked ID/8890GCM/2024, Adamakin Investment and Works Limited and its promoter, Akinfolabi Akindele, listed the Attorney General, the Commissioner for Physical Planning, the Permanent Secretary, Bureau of Lands, the Lagos State Property Development Corporation (LSPDC), and enforcement agencies as defendants.
The claimants are contesting the government’s restricting order placed on the disputed land, which is officially registered as No. 45 on Page 45 in Vol. 2212 of the Lagos State Land Registry.
They argued that the state’s “No Transaction, No Certified True Copy” directive placed on the title is an unlawful reversal of the estate’s recognised ownership, without due process.
According to the suit, the land ownership was affirmed in 1912 by the Federal Supreme Court of Nigeria, and further validated through historical legal documents, including a 1954 Petition of Right.
The claimants insist that suspending operations on the estate’s title without due notice or hearing violates their constitutional rights. The claimants’ seek court’s declarations that the government’s restriction on transactions involving the land is unlawful and should be lifted.
They alleged that Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) and other agencies have no right to mark buildings for demolition on the estate without due process.
The claimants argued that the invitation of estate beneficiaries for questioning by government agencies is an attempt to review past court judgments and should be stopped.
They also stated that the directive by the Attorney General or law enforcement agencies to confiscate property from estate beneficiaries should be declared illegal.
Additionally, the claimants are asking for a court order preventing state agencies from interfering with land ownership and stopping any ongoing prosecutions related to the dispute.
The Lagos State Government has been given 14 days to respond to the summons. The case is expected to test the limits of government authority over land administration and the extent to which historical land claims can be enforced in modern Lagos.
