A Lagos State High Court in Yaba has issued an interim order stopping the Lagos State Government and four other defendants from taking possession of or interfering with a disputed property belonging to an 80-year-old widow in Lekki Peninsula Scheme I until a pending motion on notice is heard.
Justice E.O. Ashade granted the order in a suit filed by Chief H.A.K. Shonowo, acting for herself and the estate of her late husband, Chief Owodiran Olusoga Shonowo.
The defendants are the Lagos State Government, the Attorney-General of Lagos State, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Gary Sanusi and Dillon Consultants Nigeria Limited.
Represented by her lawyer, Babatunde Oni (SAN), the claimant argued that the defendants’ actions had caused her hardship and asked the court to protect the property while the substantive suit is being determined.
The disputed development comprises 11 four-bedroom terrace houses, three three-bedroom flats, one two-bedroom flat and a commercial shop built on about 4,000/4,300 square metres at Block 113, Plot Health Centre, Lekki Peninsula Scheme I, Eti-Osa Local Government Area.
In granting the application, Justice Ashade ruled that the claimant had presented sufficient grounds for the interim relief.
“I am unable, therefore, to find any cogent reasons why the application of the claimant/applicant should be refused, as I find the arguments of the learned senior counsel to be meritorious.
“I am, therefore, inclined to agree with the submissions of the learned senior counsel that it is in the best interest of justice to grant this application.”
The judge also stressed that parties involved in ongoing litigation must avoid actions that could affect the court’s authority over the matter.
“It is trite law that when a court is seized of a matter, parties should not do anything that will impact on the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter in any manner whatsoever.”
Justice Ashade observed that the claimant’s allegations, if left unchecked, could hinder the court’s ability to determine the case. Consequently, the court restrained the defendants, their agents, servants, privies and representatives from taking possession of, transferring, reassigning, interfering with or otherwise dealing with the claimant’s alleged interest in the property pending the hearing of the motion on notice.
The court also barred the fourth and fifth defendants from handing over the disputed property to anyone until the pending application is decided.
As part of the conditions for the interim injunction, the claimant was directed to file an undertaking of N1 million to indemnify the defendants should the court later determine that the order ought not to have been granted.
Court documents showed that the claimant and her late husband were jointly allocated the original 7,312.865-square-metre parcel of land in 1996 under a Certificate of Occupancy issued by the Lagos State Government.
According to the claimant, the government revoked the right of occupancy in a letter dated October 7, 2020. However, after she appealed, the government reallocated 4,000 square metres of the land to her through a letter dated May 17, 2021. A later survey put the actual size of the property at about 4,300 square metres.
She said she accepted the allocation and entered into a joint venture with the fourth and fifth defendants to develop the site.
Under the agreement, the developers were to build 22 four-bedroom terrace houses, six three-bedroom flats and two two-bedroom flats. The claimant said she was entitled to 11 terrace houses, three three-bedroom flats, one two-bedroom flat and a commercial shop, while the remaining units would belong to the developers.
She stated that construction began in 2021, with her share of the completed development expected by August 31, 2023.
However, the claimant alleged that despite repeated demands from December 2025, the developers failed to hand over her allocated units, citing the need for additional time to complete fittings and fixtures before promising delivery by March 31, 2026.
She further claimed that on March 27, 2026, the fifth defendant, through the fourth defendant, informed her via WhatsApp that the Lagos State Government intended to take over the entire 4,000/4,300-square-metre property reallocated to her.
The claimant maintained that she had no contractual relationship with the Lagos State Government, the Attorney-General or the Governor, insisting that her contractual dealings were exclusively with the fourth and fifth defendants.
Justice Ashade adjourned the matter until July 9, 2026, for the hearing of the motion on notice.