Withdraw warrant they asked : mostly property owners and Shangisha Landlords Association are now in loggerheads on the recent warrant of possession signed by Lagos Chief judge.
The last is yet to be heard over a dispute surrounding the acquisition of Magodo Phase II land by Lagos State Government, as residents, mostly property owners and Shangisha Landlords Association are now in loggerheads on the recent warrant of possession signed by Lagos Chief judge, they asked to withdraw warrant. Justice Oluwafunmilayo Olajumoke Atilade that empowers the association to take possession of 549 plots in the disputed area.
The motion, supported by a six paragraph affidavit of urgency deposed to by one Kunle Eludire, Chairman of Magodo Residents Association (MRA), dated April 19, 2017, the residents urged the court for an order to stay or suspend any further step to be taken against them whether by the Sheriff of the courtIn the motion on notice brought pursuant to order 11, Rule 10 of the Judgment enforcement rules and the inherent jurisdiction of the court, the residents are seeking an order of court to set aside the warrant of possession.
The motion, supported by a six paragraph affidavit of urgency deposed to by one Kunle Eludire, Chairman of Magodo Residents Association (MRA), dated April 19, 2017, the residents urged the court for an order to stay or suspend any further step to be taken against them whether by the Sheriff of the court or any of its officers or by the respondents in purported execution of the judgment of the Supreme Court in SC/112/2012 delivered on February 10, 2012, which affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal and the high court.
The motion was filed by the incorporated trustees of Magodo Residents Association (MRA), Abdulrasak Sonekan, Joshua Tinuoye, Oluwadurotimi George-Taylor, Biodun Jagunna and Mr. Ikenna Uzokwu Mbonu for themselves and on behalf of the landlords and residents of Magodo Residential Scheme Phase 11.
Eludire said the planned invasion of their estate by some hoodlums purportedly to enforce warrant of possession in respect of the court judgment has the potential to breach of the peace and breakdown of law and order.
He said the residents had written to the Lagos State government and the relevant security agencies asking for their intervention, in order to prevent any act that may cause a breach of the peace in the area.
Eludire argued further that the residents were not defendants on the said suit where judgment was obtained by Shangisha Landlords Association against the Lagos state government.
“ The judgment creditors sought to join 594 unknown residents of the estate in an originating summons filed at the Supreme Court in 2014.
“The originating summon was struck out by the supreme court based on our lawyers’ application and on the ground that our residents were not parties to the action and so no enforcement can be carried out against us or our property,” he said.
The judgment, he said, is a declaratory one for Lagos State Government to give the first choice preferential treatment to the plaintiffs in the matter and a mandatory injunction to allocate 549 plots to them.
Eludire noted that from the legal advice from their lawyers, the warrant of possession signed by the chief judge of Lagos is flawed in many respects and the residents have challenged the process of issuance of the warrant in court to stop the wrongful and illegal act.
A legal adviser to the residents, Akin Adepoju said the Supreme Court in the judgment explicitly ordered the Lagos State Government to allocate 549 plots to the plaintiffs in the said Shangisha Village scheme and wondered how they can possess the land that has not been allocated to them.
