After almost 12 years of shuttling between Lagos and Ikorodu over land dispute between Publisher of Oriwu Sun, Chief Monzor Olowosago and the Adegbose Family in Oluodo, Ikorodu, the Publisher has finally received a favorable verdict and won one acre of land. The court ruling delivered by Justice O. A. Dabiri in a March 31, 2021, awarded ownership of the land property at Oluodo to Chief Monzor Olowosago after sufficient evidence were examined and cross-examined in his court.
The land had remained an apple of dicot between the Publisher of Oriwu Sun and the Adegbose Family since the early 1990s and had dragged in the law court for over a decade and two years before the recent verdict.
In a ruling delivered on March 31, 2021, suite No: IKD/50/2008, at the Ikeja High Court, Justice Dabiri, now retired, gave Chief Monzor the order to take over the land he legally acquired from the Adegbose Family in 1991. The land was duly possessed from grandfather of the Omonile in 1991 and all transactions were completed then.
Years after, a group of Omoniles from the family emerged to reclaim the land after their father and head of the family sold the land to the Publisher and other buyers.
In his verdict, Justice Dabiri restrained the omonile to refrain from encroaching on the land and warned them to desist from any activity that may lead to indictment in future. The good thing about the Publisher’s judgment, unlike other buyers who acquired plots of land in neighbouring lands, is that during the last days of the final judgment, the Adegbose Family, who stood as the defendant, refused to turn up towards the end of the case and abandoned the case. They started backing out after their lawyer cross-examined the Publisher’s suite and compared with cases of Mr. Shina Amokomowo, Prince Tajudeen Odofin and Mr. Jide Onofowokan and others.
For reasons best known to their lawyer, they did not show up in the final court proceedings, despite notification from the court and the Publisher’s lawyer. The defendants outrightly refused to show up for the final verdict. The judge had no choice but to give judgement in favour of the Publisher and asked the defendants to pay the claimant the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand naira (N250, 000.00) damages.
An excerpt of the court judgment reads, “A declaration of the Honourable Court that by the Deed dated 13th February, 1995, the Defendants have alienated all their interest in that parcel of land measuring 4926.832 square meters lying and situated at Oritamerin Ibefun Oluodo Road, off Igbogbo/Ipakodo Road, more particularly described in survey Plan No MK/171/92, dated 20th August 1992 drawn by M. A. Koiki Licensed Surveyor of which plan is annexed to the Certificate of Occupancy No 90/90/2000C to the claimant.”
In the second statement the judge wrote, “A Declaration of the Honourable Court that the parcel of land measuring 4926.832 square meters lying and situate at Oritamerin Ibefun Oluodo Road, Off Igbogbo/IPakodo Road, more particularly described in Survey Plan No MK/171/92, dated 20th August 1992, drawn by M. A. Kioki Licensed Surveyor, which plan is annexed to the Certificate of Occupancy No 90/90/2000C is the property of the Claimant. Mr. Jide Oluwa.”
The third condition reads, “An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, servants or privies whosoever from going or doing anything whatsoever and or disturbing the claimant from the peaceful enjoyment of the Land covered by the Certificate of Occupancy No 90/90/2000C, belonging to Mr. Jide Oluwa” While the fourth order states, “Cost of action. Cost of N250, 000 is awarded against the Defendants in both judgement in favour of the two Claimants.”
Copies of the 19-page court ruling delivering the final judgment were presented to the claimants (Chief Monzor Olowosago) and his Lawyer for documentation and evidence against future encroachment by the defendants.