The immediate past governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi has challenged the revocation of the title of his landed property at Agodi GRA, Ibadan by the incumbent governor, Mr Seyi Makinde before an Ibadan High Court.
In a writ of summons filed before the court by his lawyer, Mr Mutalubi Ojo Adebayo, his Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice while in office, Ajimobi as the claimant is seeking the following reliefs from the court:
An order of injunction against the defendants, their servants, agents and privies, to stop the listed persons from restraining any developmental work, or causing disturbance on the said property, describing the revocation as “unconstitutional, illegal, null and void and one not borne of good intention;
An order of perpetual injunction, stopping the state government from revoking the property with a Certificate of Right of Occupancy dated February 6, 2019 and registered as No. 56 at Page 56 in Volume 3771 of the Lands Registry Office.
Joined with the governor as as defendants in the suit are the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, the Commissioner for Lands, and the Attorney General of the State.
In the affidavit he deposed to before the court,the claimant contests the basis of the notice which was sent to him by the state government on January 31, 2020.
The letter entitled, ‘Notice of intention to revoke interest on portion of state land at Agodi government reservation area, Ibadan’, was sent by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development.
According to the claimant, the land in dispute was donated to him by ‘Alhaji Alao’, and was acquired by him by the virtue of Statutory Right of Occupancy dated February 10, 2009 and registered as No. 35 at Page 35 in Volume 3556 of the Lands Registry Office, Ibadan.
The donor was said to have enjoyed “undisturbed possession of the land before donating it to the claimant.”
It was also merged with the property registered as No. 16 at Page 16 in Volume 3714 of the Lands Registry Office, Ibadan, and was fenced round for the development of guest chalets, church, mosque, recreation areas and the country home of the former Governor.
The claimant further averred that the revocation was done by the defendants mala fide, as their reason was vague and without good intentions. “It is therefore illegal, unconstitutional, and the same is null and void”, he stated.
Ajimobi further stated that all the landed properties that belonged to him are under threat of revocation by the defendants.
He therefore urged the court to grant the reliefs he seeks from the court and a cost of N15 million against the defendants, being the cost of the legal action.
No date is yet fixed for the hearing of the suit.
