Abeokuta: By Andy BABATUNDE
Published, Saturday, August 13, 2023
A NIGERIAN POLICE CHIEF has been dragged before a High Court in Ogun State, Nigeria over his involvement in a mining land dispute, and being asked to pay N50,000,000 for general damage to the properties of a company.
The Chief Superintendent of Police. (CSP) with the Nigeria Police, Zone 2, Onikan, Lagos State was alleged unlawful interference with ownership and possessor rights of a company to its laterte mining site in Feru village, near Ota, Ogun State.
The mining company, Gbenga Ibuoye Nigeria Limited, dragged CSP Omotayo Adegbite before the Ogun State High Court sitting at Ota in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government area in Suit No.AB/526/2022 cited by thedispatch.
The mining company accused CSP Adegbite of abusing his privilege as a Police officer to unlawfully issue an order to vacate the said mining site located at Feru village in Ado-Odo/Ota local government area of Ogun State to satisfy some unknown vested interest.
According to the counsel to the mining company, Barr. O.O. Oniyire in a writ of summons and statement of claim said the company is the original owner of the large parcel of land covering a total of 133 acres of land comprised within Odunfa/Falohun and Falola Family land in Feru village, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State covered with Survey Plan No.OG/3004/2020/017ABB and Survey Plan No.SOSA/OG/289P/2019 respectively.
Oniyire explained that the aforementioned parcel of land was sold and transferred to Alhaji Gbenga Ibrahim Ibuoye who purchased the said land from the accredited representatives of Odunfa/Falohun family and Falola family both of Feru village, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State way back 2004 and thereafter later sold and transferred the said land to his mining company sometimes in 2020.
According to him, upon purchase of the 133 acres of land by his client, the company was led into physical possession of the said land by the seller in the presence of witnesses from both the Odunfa/Falohun and Falola families as well as other witnesses.
The counsel maintained that ever since, the firm had embarked on her mining activities on the land till date until the recent interference by CSP Omotayo Adegbite who allegedly acting on the prompts authority of the Registered Trustees of World Mission Agency, (a.k.a. Winners Chapel) stormed Gbenga Ibuoye Nigeria Limited landed property at Feru village Ogun State comprising the company's laterite mining site under force of arms to forcefully halt operations on the mining site and take over the said land and mining site without any court order so to do despite the pendency of cases in Ogun State High Court between Registered Trustees of World Mission Agency and Gbenga Ibuoye Nigeria Limited wherein the AIG Zone 2 and the Police are also parties in one of the cases, that is, Suit No.AB/526/2022.
He further stated that the Police Chief recently resorted to using his privileged office to dabble into a purely civil/land matter for no reasonable cause assigned by interfering unlawfully with the ownership and possessory rights of the claimant by purportedly issuing injunctive orders directing the company to stop carrying on her laterite mining activities on the land and thereby disrupting claimant's business on its land.
Oniyire stressed that, in the course of attack on the mining site, the police and agents of Winners Chapel destroyed several equipment found on the land, removed batteries of all the excavators found on the land as well as Gbenga Ibuoye Nigeria Limited company van, all of which were carted to Zone 2, Onikan Lagos.
The counsel further noted that the unlawful conduct of the police chief resulting from his callous issuance of injunctive orders against the company and physical upset of the company's ownership and possession rights under force of arms constitutes acts of trespass on Claimant's land.
He, however, urged the court to restrain the police chief, his colleagues, servants and agents from further interfering with the company's ownership and possessory rights on the landed property covered with Survey Plan No. OG/3004/2020/017ABB and Survey Plan No.SOSA/OG/289P/2019 respectively lying and being at Feru Village,Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Oniyire equally sought an order of the Court directing the Police Chief to pay to the mining company the sum of N50,000,000 Only (Fifty Million Naira Only) being general damages for the defendant's unlawful interference with the ownership and possessory rights of the claimant, resulting from CSP Adegbite's unlawful directives of an injunctive order restraining the company from entering upon its land and carrying on its mining activities on the said land.
He said, "The defendant has continued to carry on unscrupulously and boasted that he will continue to dabble into the courts reserved area of land title disputes resolutions and continue to sustain the issuance of injunctive orders by him on the Claimant's land and against the Claimant unless restrained by the Honorable Court.
Essentially, the Claimant claims against the Defendant as follows:
A declaration that the Defendant, Defendant's colleagues, servants and agents have no right at all to dabble into purely civil/land matter or conduct land title dispute resolution and issue injunctive directives/orders against the Claimant restraining the said claimant from exercising its ownership and possessory rights Over Claimant's land at Feru village covered with Survey Plan No.OG/3004/2020/017ABB and Survey Plan No.SOSA/OG/289P/2019 respectively.
"A declaration that the Claimant is the person entitled to issuance of a statutory right of occupancy over the 133 acres of land comprised within Odunfa/Falohun and Falola Family land in Feru village, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State which land is more particularly described in Survey Plan No.OG/3004/2020/017ABB and Survey Plan No.SOSA/OG/289P/2019 respectively.
"An order of the Honorable Court directing the Defendant to pay to the Claimant the sum of N50,000,000 Only (Fifty Million Naira Only) being General Damages for the Defendant's Unlawful interference with the ownership and possessory rights of the Claimant on Claimant's landed property aforesaid at Feru Village Ogun State resulting from the Defendant's unlawful directives of an injunctive order restraining the Claimant from entering upon its land and carrying on its mining activities on the said land.
"A perpetual order of injunction restraining the Defendant, Defendant's colleagues, servants and agents from interfering or further interfering with the Claimant's ownership and possessory rights on Claimant's landed property covered With Survey Plan No. OG/3004/2020/017ABB and Survey Plan No.SOSA/OG/289P/2019 respectively lying and being at Feru Village, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State."
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