The NRC is a respondent alongside the Attorney General of the Federation, the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company Limited, the Federal Ministry of Transportation, and the Minister of Transport, in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/1384/2020. reported how the residents rejected plans by the NRC to demolish their houses to pave way for the construction of rail tracks.
The residents had alleged that some houses in the communities were demolished in 2017 for the same project with a promise by the Federal Government to compensate those affected.
However, three years after, they said some of the landlords were not paid compensation.
The lawyer for the communities, Olayele Faturoti, said the Federal Government returned to the areas in March 2020 and announced that more houses would be demolished for the railway project.
He added that residents of the communities were prevented from having access to their houses.
In the suit filed before the court, the residents sought an order of the court declaring the demolition of their houses as gross violation of their rights.
The residents also sought a perpetual injunction of the court restraining the Attorney General of the Federation, the NRC and the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company from demolishing and barricading their houses.
They further demanded “an order for compensation to all property owners at Agbado, Odewale, Opeilu, Oposuru and Itoki communities in Ogun State. An order that the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents are jointly and severally liable to the applicants and directing the respondents to pay to the applicants the sum of N400m as damages for illegal demolition of the applicants’ properties being a breach of the applicants’ fundamental rights to fair hearing in Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the African Charter on Human Right, respectively.”
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