Coastal road dispute: Foreign Investors Network slams $250m lawsuit on Umahi

A group of investors under the auspices of Foreign Investors Network of Nigeria, have filed a suit against the Attorney General of the Federation, the Minister of Works David Umahi, and HITECH Construction Company, seeking $250 million in damages.

The investors asked a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, to restrain the Federal Government and its contractors from demolishing an 18.8-hectare estate at Okun-Ajah, Eti-Osa, for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road project.

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The plaintiff, in a 15-page document obtained by TRIBUNE ONLINE, claims that the defendants failed to follow due process in realigning the road, which now conflicts with their developed estate, Winhomes Global Services Estate.

According to the plaintiff, “at no time was it issued with any statutory notice, demolition order, or opportunity to be heard,” adding that the actions of the defendants constitute a “gross violation of the Plaintiff’s constitutional rights as enshrined in Sections 36 and 44 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”

The plaintiff’s counsel, Valerian Nadike, argued that “no notice or hearing was afforded prior to the commencement of the destructive markings on its property,” adding that such omission violates the principle of audi alteram partem and fundamental human rights.

“The attempted demolition of the Plaintiff’s estate without a lawful acquisition process, valid gazette, or compensation, amounts to executive lawlessness,” Nadike stated, citing Ojukwu v. Governor of Lagos State (1986) as authority.

“No state authority, no matter how well-intentioned, can ride roughshod over constitutional rights,” they stated.

The Foreign Investors Network is seeking a declaration that the actions of the defendants in “marking for destruction and demolition the Plaintiff’s property without recourse to any legal or lawful basis is illegal, null and void.”

They are also seeking an injunction restraining the defendants from further acts that interfere with the estate and an order awarding $250 million in damages.

The court has yet to fix a date for hearing, but the defendants have 30 days to file their appearance and response.