Wale Igbintade

Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal large courtroom, sitting down in Lagos has cautioned the Lawyer-Common of Lagos condition against distortion of details in respect of a petition penned towards him to the Main Choose.

Justice Osiagor said this at the resumed listening to of a suit filed by Admiralty Fleet Restricted (BICS Back garden), and Admiral Festus Porbeni (Rtd), in opposition to the Attorney Standard, Lagos Condition National Inland Waterways Authority and the Chairman, Lagos Condition Unique Job Drive.

When the matter arrived up for hearing, Justice Osiagor educated parties that adhering to the petition prepared by the Legal professional-Basic, Lagos State he would no extended like to preside above the make any difference any more.

“I will not want to carry on with this subject. I will convey to the Admin Decide that I would like to recuse myself. The Attorney General wrote his petition with out wanting at the record of the courtroom. Possibly he was misled by his counsel in his ministry or they want to be mischievous. The Lawyer Standard has distorted the points and I will not want to carry on with the issue. Anytime the CJ writes, I will answer correctly.”

Justice Osiagor stated that if the petitioner had taken time to seem at the record of the courtroom, he would have noticed that the court docket refused an exparte application introduced by the plaintiffs on the 12th October 2021 and requested that the defendants should really all be set on see.

Even with staying on notice, males of the 3rd defendants invaded the premises on the 14th October 2021 resulting in far more destruction to buildings on the premises/ residence than experienced been filed in the first go well with.

Addressing, law firm to the 1st and 3rd defendants, Justice puzzled why he did not serve his colleagues with copies of the petition

“You wrote a petition and you did not serve any of the get-togethers in the go well with. This is not the way it should be done in a noble job. This is not noble, it is soiled, it is not decent nor clear. We are not battling ourselves, but we ought to be guided by ideas and integrity and not primordia sentiment. I have principles guiding me apart from staying a judge”, Justice Osiagor mentioned.

The choose nonetheless reiterated that the restraining get he designed on October 18th 2021 from the 1st and 3rd defendants even now subsists and has not been established aside.

He also adjourned the issue sine die pending further directive from the Admin Choose

The court docket experienced on Oct 18th, 2021, restrained the Lawyer-Common of Lagos Point out, and the Lagos Point out Exclusive Undertaking Force Device (1st and 3rd defendants) from allocating any part of a house located at B20, Wole Olateju Crescent, off Admiralty Way, Lekki Period 1 in Eti-Osa Community government Region and/ or getting into into the reported premises/ house pending the hearing of the substantive fit.

Nonetheless, Lagos Point out Federal government appealed towards the purchase and followed it up by re-deploying the Lagos Condition Endeavor Pressure law enforcement officers to the web-site in breach of the buy of injunction.

The first and third defendants allegedly brought a bulldozer on to the web page at about 4 am on Oct 20th, 2021, and demolished additional structures on the web page with the Lagos Point out Undertaking Pressure policemen offering safety for those flouting the injunction.

Impressed by the carry out of the very first and third defendants, the claimants commenced contempt proceedings in opposition to the Lawyer Common of Lagos Point out and sought for the Lawyer Normal and The Chairman, Lagos State Authorities Specific Task Power to be committed.

Having said that, Adebayo Haroun, counsel to 1st & 3rd defendants, educated the court that the Legal professional Common experienced composed a petition to the Chief Choose of the Federal Superior Court docket complaining that they experienced no self-confidence in the Choose mainly because the Choose had issued a preservative get towards.

But, Counsels to the claimants, Olatunji Oyeyipo SAN Abiodun Olatunji SAN and Counsel to the 2nd defendants, NIWA, Adejare Kembi ESQ, informed the court docket that they ended up amazed at the turn of activities and complained that the Attorney General did not deem it match to effect service of the reported petition on them.

The plaintiffs experienced in their assertion of claim stated that on December 4, 2008, the next applicant utilized to the Nationwide Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) for permits to construct a jetty and boat club at Plot 6 BLK A15 off Admiralty Way, Lekki Lagos, which was authorized.

They stated that on September 30, 2021, adult men and officers of the Lagos State Task Drive with no any prior discover or any legitimate courtroom purchase forcefully entered the disputed premises and started marking its devices, equipment, buildings, and boats for removal in just 48 hrs.

They urged the court to declare the forceful entry and invasion of the 1st applicant’s premises amount to trespass and a breach of the applicant’s essential ideal to very own immovable home anyplace in Nigeria assured by Part 43 of the Constitution.

But, the Attorney-Standard of Lagos Condition and the Lagos Undertaking Power in their Observe of preliminary objection challenged the jurisdiction of the courtroom to entertain the suit arguing that the topic make any difference of this action is not a person of the specific issues listed in Portion 251 of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) that the courtroom is conferred with jurisdiction to entertain.