By Henry Ojelu

The Lagos State Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Rural Development has directed parties in a protracted land dispute involving the Peace Estate Residents Association, Okota, Lagos, to pursue their claims before the court, declining to intervene in a matter already pending before the judiciary.

The directive followed a stakeholders’ meeting convened on February 12 over the alleged demolition of a gate and gatehouse belonging to members of the Peace Estate Residents Association, Okota, Lagos.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr. Charles Ugwuanyi, lawyer to the owner of the disputed property, Alhaji Jamie Olonade, disclosed that about 40 persons attended the session, including representatives of the association, officials of the ministry, enforcement officers, the traditional ruler and members of the Onitire family, who originally sold the land.

According to him, the meeting was triggered by a petition written by the association, alleging that its gate was demolished on January 11 by persons described as policemen and “thugs,” purportedly acting on the instructions of a named individual.

Ugwuanyi faulted the petitioners for failing to disclose in their petition that the dispute is already before a court of competent jurisdiction.

He noted that the petition itself admitted the presence of police officers during the demolition, arguing that any criminal complaint arising from the incident should be handled by the police, while the substantive issues of ownership and usage remain for the court to determine.

He further disclosed that a lawyer from the Ministry of Justice confirmed during the meeting that the matter is sub judice and that the ministry could not deliberate on it administratively.

According to Ugwuanyi, the Permanent Secretary subsequently advised all parties to ventilate their grievances in court, stressing that the ministry would not interfere in a dispute already submitted for judicial determination.

“As far as the ministry is concerned, once a matter is before the court, it cannot sit over it. The parties were directed to pursue the case in court,” he said.

Ugwuanyi added that on behalf of Alhaji Jamie Olonade, he has filed a defence and counterclaim in the pending suit, accusing the opposing party of engaging in forum shopping by petitioning multiple authorities despite ongoing litigation.

He said representatives of the Onitire family, including the family head and a key signatory to earlier affidavits, maintained at the meeting that the land was sold as private property and not designated as a road in the family layout.

According to him, the family challenged the association to produce any government document showing that the land had been committed as a public road, insisting that no such official record exists.

He disclosed that ministry officials reportedly asked the Peace Estate Residents Association, Okota, Lagos to present government-issued documentation to support its claim that the land is a road, but none was produced beyond individual survey plans.

Ugwuanyi maintained that private survey plans do not amount to government acquisition or official designation of land as a public road.

He also alleged that the association recently erected a street sign on the disputed land, insisting that mounting a street name does not confer ownership or alter the legal status of the property.

He reiterated that both the Onitire family and government authorities are aligned in their position that the land is not a road but privately owned property belonging to Alhaji Jamie Olonade.

Source; Vanguard News