IGP, others dragged to court over land matter

A businessman and owner of Egaga Oil and Gas Limited, David Michael has approached a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory with a suit seeking to restrain the Inspector General of Police and two others from arresting him or members of his staff over ownership of a property located on Plot ED21, Sabon Lugbe East Layout in Abuja.

In a Notice of Motion numbered: M/7577/18, the plaintiff joined a company, Zoe New Dawn Nigeria Limited, Mirian Aniekwu, Luggard Edegbe along with the Police boss.

David Michael, who is the managing director of Egaga Oil and Gas, the plaintiff also asked the court for an interlocutory injunction restraining all the parties in the suit from entering into the property, which is the subject matter of the substantive suit, pending before the court.

A 27-paragraph affidavit deposed to by David Michael averred that his company bought the property from Nigerbul Marble Industries Ltd, which it bought from Cybex Systems Ltd.

He further averred that, sometime in 2018, Zoe New Dawn Nigeria Ltd (First defendant), which is an estate developer bought the land in question, measuring about 1.3 hectares from him at the cost of N65 million and that a sale of land agreement was written and, after much delays and in breach of the agreement, the first defendant paid N7 million as part payment and had challenges making further payments due to paucity of funds.

He alleged that Luggard Edegbe, who was the Zonal Land Manager of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) and the third defendant in the suit had previously trespassed into the land, which made his company and Nigerbul Marble to sue him in suit CV/0565/18 and the third defendant and his co-trespassers apologised and the suit was discontinued.

According to him, “Some weeks after their apology, Edegbe procured Miriam Aniekwu, the second defendant to make belated adverse ownership claim of the same land and claimed that he (Edegbe) sold the land to her.

“That, at this time, the first defendant had started work on the site and unknown to us, the first defendant colluded with the second and third defendants in the ploy to belatedly make the adverse ownership claims,” he added.

According to him, the first to third defendants wrote a petition against him to the then Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), claiming that he threatened to kidnap and kill the second defendant with guns and ammunition, which led to his arrest and detention for many days.

He averred that, while the police did not make mention of the claim of killing and kidnap, he was asked to write an undertaking that the land in question does not belong to him and to also refund the N7 million paid to him by the first defendant.

The plaintiff said he refused to sign the said undertaking and was taken to the O/C in charge of SARS, who directed that he should be released on bail, that the matter was a land matter, contrary to allegations of threat to life, kidnapping and illegal possession of firearms.

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Few weeks after his release, he said the first to third defendants wrote another petition against him and the police at the Force CID arrested him and detained him in a dark lonely cell and insisted that he write an undertaking that the land is not his and to refund the N7 million paid to him as part payment.

After refusing to sign, he alleged that the police hit him severally with the butts of their rifles and that when he realised that he will not get his freedom, he consented and wrote the undertaking and to also return the money paid to him by the first defendant.

“After the undertaking, the Police took the N90, 000 I had on me and said, it is in repayment of the N7 million the first defendant paid to him and that the balance will be N6, 910, 000. I was forced to acknowledge this in writing.”

The plaintiff said he was also forced to write two post-dated cheques to cover the balance of the money, with a threat that he will be arrested and thrown into detention if he fails to pay the money.

He said he now lives in fear of arrest, torture, intimidation and detention at the instance of the defendants, noting that the defendants have so far conducted themselves in a condemnable manner and that their conducts are reprehensible.

Meanwhile, the second defendant, in her counter-affidavit said she is the beneficial owner of the land in dispute, Plot ED 21, Sabon Lugbe East Layout, Abuja, having acquired exclusive possessory rights over same, via a Power of Attorney donated to her by Cybex Systems Ltd, the original allottee of the land.

She said the third defendant, being the Zonal Land Manager of AMAC signed the land allocation instruments, which was allocated to Cybex Systems Ltd from whom she acquired the subject matter in the suit.

Upon the transaction between the company and her self, an Offer of terms of grant/conveyance of approval dated June 29, 1998, was issued to her, after which she applied for a change of name and was issued new offer of terms of grant/conveyance of approval in her name.

The second defendant said she has processed the Certificate of Occupancy with No C AMAC 000489, which was duly signed by AMAC Chairman in respect of the land in her name, after which the Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS) regularised the land title in her name.

She said sometime in April this year, the first defendant was developing on the property and when she confronted him, she was told that the property was sold to him by David Michael, the alter ego of Egaga Oil and Gas Ltd and when he confronted him, he told her that the said land belongs to his father and that was why he sold it to the first defendant.

He alleged that the plaintiff threatened to kidnap and kill him if she dared to enter into the land, a development she said she reported to the police and on investigation, the police discovered that, “The claimant, through David Michael forged the land documents in respect of the subject matter and sold same to the first defendant.”

The third defendant identified the signature on the land documents presented to her as the authentic, after which, she claimed David Michael admitted his crime, apologised and offered N90, 000 and a cheque of N6, 910, 000 as a refund to the first defendant for money fraudulently collected.

The third defendant, in his counter-affidavit, averred that there was never any transaction between Cybex Nigeria Ltd and Nigerbul Marble Industries Ltd and that the only transaction he witnessed was that, between Cybex Systems Nigeria Ltd and Mrs Mirian Aniekwu (second defendant).

He said the Plot of land was allocated to Cybex, a company registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission before the allocation was made, thereby making it impracticable to change the ownership.

While noting that there was never any suit marked CV/0565/18 nor had any suit pending been brought to his knowledge, talk more of apologising and that he has never met the first defendant, until the day he was invited by the police and that, it will be in the interest of justice to deny the plaintiff’s suit.

Meanwhile, when the matter came up yesterday, counsel to the plaintiff, Kingsley Chika Muoemeka informed the court of the arrest and detention of his client, even when the matter was pending in court.

The trial Judge, Justice Sylvanus Oriji, who was angry with the action of the police, cautioned against any form of harassment of the plaintiff by the police.

The matter did not hold due to non-filing of any process by the police boss, who is the fourth defendant in the matter and the court adjourned till November 6, 2018,

The police again attempted to re-arrest the plaintiff as he stepped out of the courtroom, even after an undertaking by police counsel, Ikemba Cyprain that the plaintiff will not be harassed by the police while the case was in court, but plaintiff counsel brought the attempt to the knowledge of the court, which warned against such act.