By Our Reporter Justice Yetunde Adesanya of the Lagos High Court, sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, has issued an order restraining the Idas...
By Our Reporter
The court's ruling, delivered on January 23, 2025, set aside the illegal execution carried out on 46.43 hectares of Agunmo's ancestral land. The Idasa Iyesi family had previously erected possession notices, boundary marks, and billboards on the land, actions now nullified by the court.
Justice Adesanya further ordered the immediate removal of all unauthorized structures and prohibited the Idasa Iyesi family from stepping onto the disputed land. This portion of land had been included in the execution of judgment in Suit No. BD/28/2012 and Appeal No. CA/LAG/CV/940/2020, even though the Agunmo Community was neither a party nor a defendant in the case.
According to The Nation Newspaper, a certified true copy of the judgment revealed that the Idasa Iyesi family, represented by Hon. Ayo Raji, Mulero Ogunbiyi, and five others, had sued the Iyesi Community over a 108.425-hectare land in Suit No. BD/28/2012. Justice Adesanya ruled in favor of the Idasa Iyesi family on June 22, 2020, leading the defendants to appeal the decision.
At the Court of Appeal, both parties reached a consent judgment in Appeal No. CA/LAG/CV/489/2020, which adjusted the disputed land size to 58.930 hectares and divided it into 32.227 hectares and 26.603 hectares between the claimants. Contrary to initial claims, the entire land was never 108.425 hectares.
However, on January 31, 2023, judgment creditors from the original suit sought to extend their claim to Agunmo Community, which was neither sued nor included in the appeal. Arriving with police officers and suspected land grabbers, they attempted to seize 46.43 hectares of Agunmo land, marking several properties, erecting possession notices, and posting billboards from the boundary of Iyesi town to the heart of Agunmo, including its popular market.
In response, Agunmo Community, led by Chief Job Ogunbiyi, through legal counsel Peters Oladipo Agboola, filed an application on November 10, 2023, requesting the court to annul the wrongful execution. The argument was that Agunmo Community was distinct from the parties involved in the original lawsuit.
Counsel for the judgment creditors, Ola Sobowale, urged the court to dismiss the application, maintaining that the execution was carried out within the land covered by the judgment.
In a comprehensive 34-page ruling, Justice Adesanya upheld the Agunmo Community's claim, granting an injunction to restrain the Idasa Iyesi family from further trespass. The court also invalidated all possession notices, execution orders, and markings placed on Agunmo land. However, the judge denied the applicants' request for damages.
Justice Adesanya ruled,“The Applicants/Interveners are in occupation of the land upon which possession notices were pasted and execution sought to be levied, and they were not parties to this Suit No. BD/28/2012. The Judgment Creditors/Respondents will, therefore, need to institute a separate suit against the Applicants/Interveners for either the enforcement of the judgment or a determination of title as between them and the Applicants/Interveners.”
With this ruling, unless appealed, the Agunmo Community has regained control of its land, restoring peace after a protracted legal battle.
Read more of the report here as Culled from The Nation Newspaper
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