Posted by By OLA AGBAJE on
The granting of ex parte order by a Lagos State High Court, Justice Lawal Akapo, in a landed property dispute, which had been decided by the same court with execution of judgment virtually completed, is generating mixed reactions.
The granting of ex parte order by a Lagos State High Court, Justice Lawal Akapo, in a landed property dispute, which had been decided by the same court with execution of judgment virtually completed, is generating mixed reactions.
While one party in the dispute is applauding the aggrieved party who has the subsisting judgment in its favour, the other who stands to lose the benefit of the 12-year litigation is crying foul and has dragged Justice Akapo to the National Judicial Council (NJC).
Before the said ex parte order for maintenance of status quo was sought by Mr Adekunle Ajasa, counsel to those affected by the subsisting judgment of Justice Olusola Williams were already engaged in dialogue with winners as indicated in his letter of May 26, 2008 to him.
The letter fixed June 6 for the meeting of stakeholders to be held at the secretariat of Ayobo-Ipaja Local Government Council.
However, at the scheduled meeting, the counsel that fixed the date and venue was said to have arrived very late.
According to Olagoke Akewusola, Ekundayo's counsel (complainant in this petition), in a letter dated June 19 to the Commissioner of Police Amodu Ali, the Commander of Police Special Investigation Unit, Force Headquarters, Abuja averred that while they were waiting for Ajala at the meeting, he was busy filing motions in court to stop the execution of the judgment.
'It was on the same day we were waiting for the lawyer at the meeting on June 6 that he was at Ikeja, Lagos filing suit to frustrate the completion of the execution,' he said.
When contacted on phone, Barrister Ajasa responded: 'My friend, don't mind them. I am at Ojo now. I would see you by 4.00 pm.'
However, the waiting turned out to be an endless one as Ajasa kept our reporter waiting between August 20 to 22 at the Ikeja High Court without showing up.
Already, the NJC is investigating the matter as the petitioner is crying foul over the manner the ex parte order was obtained, claiming that the order of maintenance of status quo was sought and obtained to frustrate the course of justice.
He alleged that the development was an abuse of court process and rule of law.
According to the petition, a copy of which has been forwarded to the state Chief Judge, Justice Augustine Ade-Alabi, the petitioner averred that the exparte order was obtained by his opponents in order to deny him the benefits of a 12 year legal tussle which he won.
He is praying the NJC to thoroughly investigate the matter and direct that justice is done in the matter, noting that the Court of Appeal has already struck out the matter thrice before his opponents embarked on another voyage at the trial court.
According to the petitioner, Justice Williams on October 29, 2005 gave judgment in suit No ID/1722/92 in his favour as defendant counter-claimant. The said judgment conferred on him the ownership of a parcel of land at Igbo-Ilogbo-Alaya Megida road, Ayobo measuring approximately 98.802 acres and covered by Survey Plan no OGEK400/76, dated April 11, 1976.
Dissatisfied with the judgment of Justice Williams, the petitioner stated that his opponent in the 12 years old legal tussle failed thrice at the Court of Appeal to upturn the verdict of the Lagos High Court. He averred that the Lagos division of the Court of Appeal on three occasions struck out suit numbers CA/L/161m/04, CA/L/246m/04 and CA/L30/06 for lack of merit.