Court lifts injunction on Ile Arugbo, awards penalties against Asa investment

Date: 2020-08-07

Kwara State High Court on Thursday lifted the interim injunction restraining the state government from constructing anything on the civil service clinic land (alias Ile Arugbo) following repeated failure of counsel to the claimant Asa Investment Limited to appear before the court to fully prosecute its case.

The Asa Investment Limited, which is purportedly owned by the late Olusola Saraki, had taken the Kwara State Government to court after the latter reclaimed the land which it said was unlawfully taken over by the firm without any right of occupancy or payment to the owner, the state government.

The court, presided over by Justice Abiodun Adebara, also awarded a penalty of N200,000 each in favour of all the four defendants (Kwara State Governor, Attorney General, House of Assembly, and Bureau of Lands) and another N50,000 to the police on account of the failure of the claimant to allow the case to proceed to hearing on various occasions.

Justice Adebara took the decision after the counsel to the claimant Akin Onigbinde SAN again failed to attend the court session on Thursday. Onigbinde instead sent a letter, accompanied with a medical report, saying he was advised to undergo bed rest between 3rd and 10th of August, 2020.

After many adjournments at the instance of the claimant, Onigbinde had again on on July 8th agreed to an adjournment for July 22nd but he later said he could not make the sitting.

That led to the adjournment to August 6th which Onigbinde again did not attend allegedly on medical grounds.

Salman Jawondo, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Kwara State who appeared for the government, said the claimant was “deliberately wasting the time of the court” and urged Justice Adebara to dismiss the case for lack of diligent prosecution and to award N250,000 penalty each against the claimant and in favour of the defendants.

Jawondo, who insisted that Asa Limited was just buying time with the numerous adjournments, wondered why other counsel to the claimant cannot continue with the case in the absence of Onigbinde.

The Police, which is the fifth defendant in the case, aligned with the government’s position that the case should be struck out.

The court awarded only N200,000 each in favour of the first four defendants and another N50,000 in favour of the police.

Justice Adebara however adjourned the matter to 23rd and 24th of September to allow the claimant’s counsel to continue the case, warning that he would not grant any other adjournment after this.

The government had in January reclaimed the land which it said was originally meant for the construction of the civil service secretariat but was unlawfully gifted out to a private firm in 2005 without any payment or certificate of ownership. Asa Investment Limited, which claims ownership of the land, thereafter challenged the action of the government in the court.

 

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

John Mayokun Dada     Women Radio     Ibrahim Abikan     Funmilayo Zubair     Oba Abdulraheem     Kwara State Coalition Of Business And Professional Associations     Seed Technologies     Abioye Bello     Government High School (GHS), Adeta     Javed Khan     Eghe Igbinehi     Gamji Members Association     ITP     Sadiq Buhari     Oni Adebayo     Nagode     Rachael Obisesan     Kwara State Polytechnic     Colleges Of Education Academic Staff Union     Quranic Recitation Competition     Special Adviser On Digital Innovation     Sarafadeen Kayode Akorede     Yahaya Abdulkareem Babaita     Emmanuel Olatunji Adesoye     Folajimi Aleshinloye     Olatunji Abdulmumeen     Oko-Erin     Ajia-Bako     Olaiya Victor Mobolaji     Association Of Kwara State Online Media Practitioners     Abubakar Usman Jos     Oniye     Ahmed Saidu Rufai     Oba Of Jebba     Raheem Adaramaja     Obayomi Azeez     Katibi Ibraheem Adeola     Kabir Shagaya     Adamu Attah     Muslim Media Watch Group Of Nigeria     Yashikira     Kwara Basketball Association     All Confederation Of Principals Of Secondary Schools     Abdulrahman Abdulrasak     Khadijat Ayoola Yusuf     KwaraLearn     Quarry Royal Valley     Dorcas Afeniforo     Ibrahim Sulu Gambari     Tunji Moronfoye     John Olobayo     QuickWin     Onilorin Of Ilorin     Olushola Saraki     Halimat Yusuf     Kaosarah Adeyi     Nurudeen Mohammed     Suleiman Yahya Alapansapa     Post Utme     Jumoke F. Ajao     Olatunji Ayeni     Kisira     Adedayo Yusuf Abdulkareem     Pacify Labs     Galadima     Saka Asiat Ayinke     Ilorin     Umar Bayo Abdulwahab     Centre For Community Empowerment And Poverty Eradication     Students Union Government     Umar Ahmed Gunu     Idowu Aremu     Saka Isau     Vasolar     Shade Omoniyi     Adegoke Bamidele     Press Release    

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

NSCIA     Ambassador Kayode Laro     Amuda Aluko     Doyin Group     Ibrahim Akaje     Hussein Olokooba     KSIRS     Tafida Of Kaiama     Garment Factory     Musa Ayinla Yeketi     Presidential Election     CCB     Jaigbade Alao     Rebecca Olanrewaju     General Tunde Idiagbon International Airport Ilorin     First Lady     Kamaldeen Kehinde     Sulu Gambari     LABTOP     Suwa-Arabs     Esuwoye     Saka Aleshinloye     David Adesina     United Nigeria Airline     Ajike People Support Centre     Yahaya A Paniyaro     Kwara Liberation Group     Lucky Omoluwa     Mujtabah Bature     Ahman Pategi     Hakeem Idris     Vasolar Consultoria     Ganmo     Babatunde Ajeigbe     Minimum Wage     Taibat Ayinke Ahmed     Abdulfatai Ahmed     Rotimi Oyedepo     EndSARS     Suleiman Abubakar     Bello Oyebanji     Yakubu Shaaba     Folorunsho Erubu     PAACO-PCL Consortium     Dasuki Belgore     Titus Ashaolu     Eghe Igbinehi     Oko-Olowo     Sun Qing Rong     Raliat AbdulRazaq     Labaeka     Olatunji Bamgbola     Olabode Towoju     Florence Saraki     Rebecca Bake     Gambari     Baboko     Iyabo Adisa Ibiyeye     Mufti Of Ilorin     CKNG     Royal FM     Ademola Kiyesola     Saeedat Aliyu     Mahe Abdulkadir     Abdulkadir Bolakale Sakariyah     Kwara 2015     Ojo Fadumila     Ibrahim Gambari     CCEPE     Abiodun Musa Aibinu     Timothy Akangbe     Kwara State Infrastructure Development Fund     Ishola Abdullahi     Ibrahim Oloriegbe     KWIRS     Abdulkadir Remi Hawawu     Sambo Murtala