Demolition: Court to hear residents N100bn suit Friday

A Federal High Court, Lagos has fixed Friday for definite hearing of a suit filed by residents of three Badagry communities whose houses were demolished by the police between December 16 and 17, 2013.

Twenty-three applicants had filed the suit on December 27, 2013, on behalf of other landlords and residents of Atinporome, Araromi Ale Extension and Mowo Phase 2 communities.

The applicants, in the fundamental human rights enforcement suit, claimed that over 1,500 houses belonging to the residents were illegally and wrongfully demolished.

They claimed that their houses were demolished without any prior notice or any court order. This, they said, amounted to a violation of their fundamental human rights under sections 33, 34, 36,43 and 44 of the constitution.

They added that the respondents in the suit went ahead with the demolition despite being aware that there was a subsisting order against them over the same subject matter in a suit, BD/22M/2008, which pending before the Badagry High Court.

They are therefore seeking an order of court awarding N100billion to them as damages, and N5million as the cost of instituting the action.

Monday was the third court session on the matter but none of the respondents, including the Inspector-General of Police, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police and the Lagos State Government had responded to the suit.

But Justice Ibrahim Buba said that the matter would proceed to hearing even if by Friday the respondents failed to file their responses to the suit before then.

Other respondents include Area Commander, Area K Police Command, Ministry of Police Affairs, and the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences Unit.

Others are the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Lagos State Lands Bureau and the Attorney-General of the state.

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Demolition: Court to hear residents N100bn suit Friday