LAGOS CP DRAGGED BEFORE IGP FOR USING OFFICERS TO FRUSTRATE COURT JUDGEMENT, DETAINING LAWYER AND OWNERS OF MULTI-BILLION NAIRA PROPERTY

Moshood Jimoh, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, detained two lawyers, a property buyer and some security guards after the legal practitioners’ victory in a court case over a landed property located in the Mushin area of Lagos in May.

Located on 381 Agege Motor Park, off Ilupeju Bypass in Mushin, the property had been subject to litigation in suit MCY/634/CIV/2023 at the Chief Magistrate’s Court 2 in Yaba.

The ownership of the asset moved from Michael Oyebola Idowu, the original property owner, to his children after his death. On December 20, his children got a judgment from the court to evict Continental Pharmaceutical Nigeria Limited, a private entity owned by Prince Albert Awofisayo, from the premises.

According to the company profile, the company “with the sole objective of manufacturing of Pharmaceutical Products in Nigeria and ensuring Public Health Facilities, particularly, Tertiary Hospitals in Nigeria, are equipped with the most advanced diagnostic medical equipment available to help improve the provision of basic healthcare related services in Nigeria, as well as curb the menace of Medical Tourism”.

The claimants, children of the deceased landlord, were Comfort Majekodunmi, Moses Adebowale Idowu, Audry Adenike Leigh and Emmanuel Adekoyejo Idowu. Awofisayo’s pharmaceutical company was the defendant.

Subsequently, the judgment was executed in February. Collectively, the family sold the property to Kazeem Alabi, a Lagos resident, for N2.7 billion. FIJ was told that the buyer paid N2 billion and promised to pay the balance at a later date.

While the buyer was on the premises with his lawyer and agents at the end of May, police officers led by the divisional police officer of the Mushin Police Station, approached them. They were arrested and taken to the police headquarters at Ikeja. There, they presented proof to back up their claim to the property but the police boss would not have any of that.

Jimoh ordered their detention and dispatched a special tactical team to take over the premises. Since then, the family and the buyer have been prevented from accessing the property.

The owners of the property and their agents are still struggling to understand Jimoh’s action.

 

BACKSTORY

The original property owner first leased the land to Hillmann and Littmann Nigeria Ltd., a British company, in 1957 for 50 years. That lease agreement expired in 2007. Per the lease agreement, the company had the right to sublet the premises.

While exiting Nigeria, Hillmann and Littmann, registered in Nigeria in 1953, leased the property to Overseas Construction Company (OCC) Limited, according to Emmanuel Adekoyejo Idowu who spoke to FIJ on July 21.

OCC, now known as ACC Limited, subleased the property to Awofisayo’s pharmaceutical firm.

The claimants’ father died in 1997. In the same year, they obtained a letter of administration to administer their father’s estate. The document authorised the claimants to act as the executors of their father’s estate for themselves and on behalf of their siblings.

WHY THEY WENT TO COURT

Between 2019 and 2023, Awofisayo’s pharmaceutical company failed to pay the property’s N1 million per annum rent to the family.

The family formally hired Adekunle Lawal, a Lagos-based attorney, in December 2022 to recover the property from the company. Between December 2022 and July 2023, the lawyer served Awofisayo’s company some statutory notices of ejection.

Upon its failure to hand the property back to the family, Lawal filed a lawsuit on behalf of his clients on August 3, 2023, seeking possession of the premises and recovery of owed rents.

The defendant hired Adeola Shodipe as its defence lawyer. Shodipe then filed their client’s defence on September 6, 2023, and supported it with a 19-paragraph affidavit the next day, according to a certified copy of the judgment delivered by Chief Magistrate P. E. Nwaka.

The December 20 judgment.

However, the defendant failed to adopt its written testimony despite the service of hearing notices on it, an action that amounted to silence. Accordingly, the court ruled that it was mandated to give judgment because the claimants’ evidence was unchallenged.

In her December 20 ruling, Chief Magistrate Nwaka wrote:

AND IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the 1st to 4th Claimants recover possession of the Premises from the Defendants Company on the 1st day of January, 2025. This is to enable the Defendant Company seek and obtain alternative accommodation for its business operations.

I so order.

ARREST, DETENTION AND ILLEGAL TAKE-OVER

After the judgment, said Adekoyejo, the family decided to divest their interest permanently from the land.

According to their lawyer, the family gave the company a right of first refusal to buy the land at the rate of N2.7 billion. But Awofisayo said he was unable to afford the amount.

With the assistance of the Lagos State Deputy Sheriff and the police, the family took legal possession of the property on February 18, almost two months after Awofisayo’s company had failed to comply with the court order.

“We did on the 18th day of February, 2025. (sic) Deliver full and peaceful possession as there was no form of confrontation or restriction. There was total compliance of order granting in favour of the claimant which is entitled to possession of business premises (sic) of Continental Pharmaceuticals Company Limited mentioned in No 381, Agege Motor Road, Ilupeju Bye-Pass (sic) Mushin, Ikeka, Lagos State,” an Execution Sheriff wrote in a Certificate of Execution of Warrant of Possession dated February 20.

Awofisayo did not respond to FIJ’s request for comments. On July 21, he spoke to FIJ on the phone and then requested an introductory text after which he would call back. FIJ sent the text to Awofisayo minutes later and he confirmed receiving it during a follow-up text. He did not call back as promised. FIJ sent a reminder the next day, but he failed to respond.

Shortly after the property was sold, Alabi, the buyer, moved to take over his purchase. While taking measurements of the land with his agents on May 30, police officers arrived, arrested them and drove them to the Commissioner of Police’s office in Ikeja.

Lawal told FIJ on July 20 that he joined the arrested persons at CP Jimoh’s office where he submitted all his client’s proof of ownership, including the judgment and execution warrants, and answered necessary questions by the police.

Some minutes later, Lawal, purchaser Alabi and Oyewole Rahmon, his lawyer, found themselves in detention along with their three security guards.

“Myself and the buyer’s lawyer were released some hours later after a state lawmaker intervened. The police only agreed to release the buyer the next day when his health broke down and he was taken to the hospital. The guards left the detention a week later,” Lawal said.

“Awofisayo claimed a court judgment had mandated him to remain in occupation and be paying his rents to the court registrar. It is a lie. No court order exists to that effect. He misinterpreted the order to suit his own narrative and we have challenged him and the registrar to show us where in the judgment the court gave such an order. They failed to do so and we are taking action against the registrar.”

In a June 2 petition addressed to the Inspector General of Police, Lawal urged the police headquarters to investigate and discipline Jimoh for his unjust actions.

The petition written against Jimoh.

“Sir, immediately after the said interview and without considering the view of both his junior officers and these had carefully listened to parties thereto, the Commissioner of Police in the person of C.P. OLOHUNDARE MOSHOOD JIMOH ordered that I, Barr. Adekunle Lawal, the Counsel to the Administrators of the Estate of Late Pa Michael Oyebola Idowu, Barr Oyewole Rahmon, the Counsel to the Buyer of the Property and the Buyer of the property in the person of Alhaji Kazeem Alabi, be locked up in the police cell on the said 30th day of May, 2025, without a Petition written to his office and without any prove of the allegation made against the said Buyer and also without any allegation against the lawyers who performed their duty as Legal Practitioners,” the petition read in part.

“Sir, we urgently urge that an inquest be opened and C.P. OLOHUNDARE MOSHOOD JIMOH be directed to release the suspect forthwith and be made to face disciplinary actions for using the apparatus of the police to interfere with civil matters that are subject of litigation. The alleged suspect’s health is gradually failing him on account of this illegal detention and the said C.P. OLOHUNDARE MOSHOOD JIMOH has continued to feign deaf ears to the pleas for the release of this fellow. Sir, we do not want an innocent person to die in the cell of this C.P. OLOHUNDARE MOSHOOD JIMOH.”

JUDGEMENT SET ASIDE EFFORT FAILS

A month after failing to vacate the premises according to the December 20 order, Awofisayo’s company returned to the same court, presided over by Magistrate A. I. O. Alaka, on February 1 to have the judgment set aside.

The company complained it was denied a fair hearing in the previous case and wanted the court to reverse the judgment produced.

Parties exchanged correspondence and canvassed their respective arguments in the months that followed. On July 23, Alaka dismissed the company’s request.

The magistrate maintained that, having been served hearing notices that prompted the company to file its defence, the company demonstrated no diligence in defending its case and was unqualified to complain of lack of a fair hearing.

“The Applicant [Continental Pharmaceuitcal Nigeria Ltd.] having been put on notice of the pendency of the case against it, the duty of its Counsel was to keep abreast of the progress of the matter. It is not enough to file a defence or any process and dump same in the Court’s file without attending proceedings in Court,” Magistrate Alaka ruled.

“The applicant who was aware of the proceedings but stood by and watched event from a distance cannot be said to be diligent. It is my view that the absence of the Applicant from the proceedings which led to the judgement sought to be set aside and any issue of the alleged lack of fair hearing, if any, was self-induced by the Applicant.”

Alaka added that the applicant failed to meet the judicial conditions under which such an application could be granted.

“Further to this, where a party is aware of the proceedings against him and believes rightly or wrongly that the action is an abuse of Court process as alleged by the Applicant, he is still obligated to enter an appearance in Court,” Alaka stated.

The judgment of Wednesday dismissing the application.

“The excuses that the summons for possession is an abuse of Court process, that there is a subsisting tenancy in respect of the subject matter and that the relief sought is also the same relief sought at the High Court are not sufficient reasons for the Applicant to refrain from attending Court after being served with the originating processes. Where a party has been given an opportunity to be heard and fails to take advantage of that opportunity, the party cannot be heard to complain of breach of fair hearing.”

Unequivocally dismissing the application, Alaka ruled:

The reasons deposed to in the Applicant’s affidavit in support of this application are not consistent with the conditions for the grant of the application. In other words, the conditions for setting aside [a] judgement enumerated by the Supreme Court have not been shown to be present in this case.

In the light of the above, this application fails and is accordingly dismissed.

With the latest judicial order, the family’s lawyer wrote to the police boss to “urgently withdraw” his officers and a vehicle stationed from the property.

CP JIMOH REMAINS SILENT

On July 22, FIJ sent three questions to the commissioner of police in a text message after he failed to answer his calls. The next day he told FIJ on the phone that he was doing police work, it was not his personal matter and that it was “the command that would respond”.

Right on the spot, he passed the phone to Benjamin Hundeyin, the command spokesperson, who said he was just hearing about the case and would respond with a formal reaction.

Hundeyin did not send any response on Wednesday. On Thursday, he told FIJ during a phone call that he wanted to show the draft response to the commissioner before sending it. He had sent no response at press time.