&w=64&q=75)
A Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos, has issued a restraining order preventing the chairman of Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit (Task Force), CSP Shola Jejeloye, from taking further actions regarding an ongoing land dispute with an estate developer.
The interim order restrained Jejeloye and others from detaining, intimidating, threatening, or taking any untoward action against one Abdullahi Saheed Mosadoluwa, the developer of Harmony Gardens and Estate Development Limited.
The order also protected members of the Parapo of Abomiti Resettlement Land faction led by Chief Obafemi Obajimi - one of the six accredited representatives of Resettlement beneficiaries - from harassment by the task force and its leaders.
In a ruling on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, Justice J. S. Ogedengbe said the restraining order would remain effective until the substantive motion is heard on November 24.
The order was given after a group of individuals representing the beneficiaries of the Free Trade Zone Parcel B Resettlement Communities (Parapo), which includes Eyin-Osa, Abomiti, and Yeguda Zones Resettlement landowners, sought legal action against the Jejeloye.
The plaintiffs alleged that the Lagos task force boss was trying to grab their land using a real estate company as a front.
The Resettlement Communities, represented by Chief Rahman Olakunle, Chief Olasunkanmi Ikujenya, Apena Adijat, Chief Onayemi Obajimi Obafemi, and Pearl Ehighimetor for Harmony Gardens, took the matter to court to seek relief from further action by CSP Jejeloye.
Meanwhile, Justice Ogedengbe emphasised the importance of respecting court orders and maintaining the status quo in this contentious land dispute.
However, in a separate but related case, where CSP Jejeloye had brought charges against Mosadoluwa at the Lagos Special Offences Mobile Court, it was discovered that the former's case involved land disputes with the latter.
The court, therefore, ordered the nominal complainants, Itunu of Veritasi Homes and CSP Jejeloye, to maintain the status quo.
In its ruling, the court stressed that taking possession or repossession of premises through self-help, abuse of public office privileges, and using force are forbidden, and parties should seek legal redress instead of the overzealous actions of the task force in favour of one party.
Furthermore, CSP Jejeloye and other officers attached to the Lagos task force were directed to refrain from encroaching or erecting anything on the subject matter of the suit.