Court lifts injunction on Ile Arugbo, Asa investment penalised

Date: 2020-08-07

Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin on Thursday lifted the interim injunction restraining the state government from constructing anything on the civil service clinic land Ile Arugbo.

The lifting of the injunction by the court presided over by Justice Abiodun Adebara followed repeated failure of counsel to the claimant, Asa Investment Limited, to appear before the court to fully prosecute its case. Asa Investment Limited, which is purportedly owned by the late Dr 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.

Justice 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 July 8 agreed to an adjournment for July 22 but he later said he could not make the sitting.

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

Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Kwara State, Salman Jawondo, 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 till September 23 and 24 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.

Source

 

Cloud Tag: What's trending

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

KWASSIP     IHS Towers     Afin Descendants Union Of Odo-Owa     Kisira     Onilorin Of Ilorin     Salaudeen Oyewale     Rice Farmers Association Of Nigeria     Suraj Tunji Oyewale     Kwara State Football Association     Ayotunde Emmanuel Alao     Kwara 2023     Freshvine Nigeria Limited     Babajide Ajayi     Oluranti Idowu     Ibrahim Mashood     National Information Technology Development Agency     Kemi Adeosun     Isiaka Yusuf     Omar Bolaji Gambari     Aliyu Olatunji Ajanaku     Oluwarotimi Boluwatife Adenike     Naira Redesign     Saheed Alakoso     TIIDELab     Boko Haram     Toun Okewale-Sonaiya     Abdulkadri Ahmad Alaiye     Ayinde Oyepitan     Ishola Balogun Fulani     Hassan Taiye Salam     Nigeria Foundation For Artificial Intelligence     Sunday Otokiti     Ibrahim Abikan     Ariyo     Special Agro-industrial Processing Zone     John Kehinde Salako     Abdul-Rasheed Na\'Allah     Abdullahi Atanda     Mamatu Abdullahi     Ibrahim Kayode Adeyemi     Lucky Omoluwa     Manzuma     David Oyedepo     Isiaka Danmeromu     KSIRS     Abiodun Musa Aibinu     Muslimah Entrepreneurship Forum     Asa LGEA School     Modibo Kawu     Bolakale Ayo     Sa\'adu Gambari     Abdulmumin Yinka Ajia     Iyabo Dupe Adekeye     Khadijat Ayoola Yusuf     2017 Budget     Bashir Adigun     Mohammed Yahaya Barki     Kale Kawu     Patigi Regatta     Hajj     Monsurat Omotosho     Taofik Abiodun Ahmed     Ibrahim Taiwo     Hauwa Nuru     Saka Keji     Aliyu Muhammed     Abdullahi AbdulMajeed     Aminu Adisa Logun     Bello Bature     Kunbi Titiloye     Yusuf Abdulraheem     Yusuf Lanre Badmus     Mutawali     HYPPADEC     Kwara Poly     Esinrogunjo     Tosho Yaqub    

Cloud Tag: What's trending

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

JUSUN     National Pilot     Lithium Deposit     Fatai Adeniyi Garba     Alabere     Tayo Awodiji     Ethical College     Osinbajo     Olatunji Moronfoye     Abdulsalam A. Yusuf     Isiaka Yusuf     Hamidat Sulyman-Yusuf     Bello John Olanrewaju     Babaloja-General     David Oyedepo     Abraysports FC     Omotosho     Solomon Edoja     Akanji     Moremi High School     Akom Construction And Engineering Synergy Ltd     Abdulhakeem Adelaja Amao     PharmAccess Foundation     Ademola Kiyesola     Mustapha AbdulGaniyu     Ajike People Support Centre     Mansur Alfanla     Noah Yusuf     Awoye     Apaokagi     Adedayo Yusuf Abdulkareem     March 28     Jimoh Saadudeen Muhammed     AbdulRauf Keji     Afeyin-Olukuta     Femi Gbajabiamila     Seed Technologies     Kwara 2023     Kwara State Football Association     Kayode Zubair     Share-Tsaragi     Salman Suleiman     Shehu Alimi Foundation     Bello Taoheed Abubakar     Bola Magaji     Nurudeen Mohammed     Joseph Daudu     Lateef Fagbemi     Gbemi Saraki     Shehu Adaramaja     Olatunde Olukoya     Baba Idris     Lanre Issa-Onilu     Doyin Awoyale     General Hospital, Offa     Olabimpe Olani     Ayotunde Emmanuel Alao     Ridwan Agboola     Ajibola Ademola Julius     Michael Nzwekwe     Dairo Kunle Paul     Adegoke Bamidele     Mubarak Oladosu     Isa Aremu     Amuda Bembe     A.G.F Abdulrasaq     Ramadhan     Sherif Shagaya     Isiaka Rafiu Mope     Fatimat Saliu     Adewuyi Funmilayo     SARS     KwaraLearn     NURTW     Frootify     Ambassador Kayode Laro     Shehu Salau