Court Restrains Property Firm from Selling, Allocating Disputed Land

An Ogun State High Court sitting in Abeokuta has granted an order restraining a property firm, Property Cafe Ltd, from selling or allocating a disputed five plots of land located at Pen Estate Phase 1, Asese-maba, Obafemi-Owode, Ogun State.

The court presided over by Justice A.A. Akinyemi gave the order following an order for Interlocutory Injunction filed by a businessman Adewale Oladejo seeking to stop the firm and it’s Managing Director, Olalekan Okewoye from selling or reallocating the plots of land which he claimed had been allocated to him by the company.

In the substantive suit no. AB/797/2023 filed by his  lawyers Victor Fredrick and Sandra Abiem, the businessman claimed that between 2015 and 2017, he purchased about 7 plots of land from the property firm at a total cost of N17,500million and was duly given a deed of assignment covering the plots of the land; five plots at Phase 1 and two plots at Phase 2, of Pen Estate .

The plaintiff claimed that he subsequently began the process of perfecting his title to the seven plots of land with the payment of necessary charges and fees to the Ogun State Government but was shocked when he returned from his base in the United Kingdom last year, to discover that his five plots of land at Pen Estate  had been reallocated to someone else by the property firm.

Mr Oladejo is seeking amongst other things, a declaration that the reallocation of his five plots of land  marked as plan nos.OG1441/2018/08,OG/744/2018/036,OG744/2018/37  and OG/744/2020/03 situate at Pen Estate Phase 1, after a deed of assignment had been issued to him, is illegal, null and void.

He also sought an order declaring a clause in the deed of assignment that empowers the defendants to reallocate his plots as illegal and a further order reversing the reallocation of the five plots of land with N10milion payment as damages against the defendants.

In their defence, the defendants insisted amongst other things that the plaintiff’s right to the five plots of land was deemed waived for failing to take full possession of the land within three months of purchase.

Ruling on the Interlocutory Injunction filed by the plaintiff seeking to restrain the defendants and their agents from selling or reallocation the disputed five plots of land,  Justice Akinyemi held. “In lieu of the application for interlocutory injunction dated  November 20, 2023 and by agreement of both learned counsel, it is hereby ordered that both parties shall maintain status quo ante bellum pending the final hearing and determination of this case.”

The case has been adjourned to April 16, 2024 for mention.