The Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has declared the Federal Government’s acquisition of over 292 hectares of ancestral land belonging to the Onigbanko community in Irede, along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, null and void.

It held that the process was carried out in breach of the law.

Justice Abdulfattah Lawal declared that the acquisition failed to meet the legal standards of due process, payment of compensation, and acquisition for a genuine public purpose.

He also dismissed all preliminary objections raised by Nasco Investment & Property Company Limited.

The case, marked ID/5709/2025, was brought by Oba Sheriff Adesina Bello, the Onigbanko of Onigbanko, and other representatives of the Onigbanko community against Nasco Investment & Property Company Limited and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

According to the court, there was no evidence indicating when or whether notices were served on the landowners. Furthermore, neither the notice of acquisition nor the relevant government gazette was presented as evidence.

The court held that, without proof of service of statutory notices, the acquisition could not lawfully extinguish the community’s rights to the land.

Justice Lawal also dismissed the defendants’ argument that the claim was statute-barred, noting that the limitation period could not commence without evidence of when the acquisition notice was served on the claimants.

The court also found that the land, originally intended for use by the Nigerian Navy, was ultimately transferred to Nasco Town Ltd, which then transferred it to Nasco Estate and Property Development Company for private commercial purposes rather than the public purpose for which it was acquired.

Justice Lawal noted that documents before the court, including lease and sublease agreements, indicated the land was used to compensate Nasco rather than to serve the stated public purpose.

He ruled that such diversion rendered the acquisition unlawful, emphasising that a private venture does not automatically become a public purpose merely because it may offer incidental benefits to the public.

As a result, the court declared the acquisition unconstitutional, illegal, null and void, setting it aside and restraining the defendants from further occupation or development of the land.

The court also awarded damages of N300,000,000 for trespass and illegal occupation, and ordered the defendants to pay N12 million in costs to the claimants. (The Nation)

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