Court prevents taskforce from seizing property owned by Lagos businessman

A Federal High Court in Lagos has prevented businessman Olasheni Adeyinka (commonly known as Abu Abel) from having his landed property taken over by the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offenses Unit, Task Force, and its chief, CSP Shola Jejeloye.

The police were also prevented from acting in relation to the property, which consisted of twelve plots of land located at Silicon Estate, Idado, Ologolo, Agungi Town, in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state, by the presiding judge, Justice Francis Ogazi, in a suit with the file number FHC/CS/80/2023.

The suit identified Adeyinka, Obimzy Property (Abu Abel) Development, and four other people as applicants, and Tayo Ayinde, the governor of Lagos State’s chief of staff, the Inspector General of Police, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, and four other people as respondents.

An interim order prohibiting the respondents, “whether by themselves, their agents from arresting, detaining, harassing or taking untoward action against applicants in connection with the facts of the case pending the hearing and determination of the originating motion, pending the final determination of this suit,” was granted by the court in a decision on an ex-parte motion filed on January 17, 2024.

Yakub Eleto, the attorney for Adeyinka, responded by claiming that his client purchased the land from the Ojomu Family of Ajiran in Eti-Osa nine years prior.

Adeyinka, according to Eleto, obtained the governor’s consent for the land, among other paperwork. However, last year, when he wanted to start construction, some individuals arrested him, and after he was set free, he discovered that some people were on his property.

When he approached them, they said that the Chief of Staff, Tayo Ayinde, had dispatched them. When my client contacted Ayinde, he stated that President Bola Tinubu was the rightful owner. However, how? A property having approval from the governor?

“To our amazement, the Lagos State Government disregarded the injunction that we had requested in court. They continued to fence the land and began construction on it. To transport cement to the building site, they even hired a police van.

“This is a grave breach of court orders and ought not to be taking place in Lagos.”