Familia Limited has filed a N5 billion suit at the Lagos State High Court against Ardova Plc., over alleged invasion and forceful takeover of its Ikoyi property.
Joined in the suit is the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State.
The applicant said it bought the property located at 12 Thompson Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos, from Forte Oil in 2013 for N1billion through a Deed of Assignment dated August 18, 2013, before Forte Oil was acquired by Ardova Plc.
The applicant stated that it had remained in possession of the property for about 12 years and that its lease was renewed and extended in February 2024 by the Lagos State Government for another 99 years.
It is alleged that on August 8, 2025, officials of Ardova Plc, accompanied by operatives of the Lagos State Task Force and Monitoring Unit, forcefully entered the premises, ejected staff and demolished a bungalow on the property.
Two 40-foot containers, it stated, were placed on the land, with an inscription stating that the property belonged to Ardova Plc.
The claimant is seeking declarations affirming its legal and equitable title to the property, relying on the 1946 principal indenture, a 1967 land certificate registered under Title No. LO3109, and the 2013 Deed of Assignment registered at the Lagos State Lands Registry.
Familia Limited is also asking the court to declare the alleged invasion of August 8, 2025, unlawful and to hold the Lagos State Government responsible for the actions of Task Force and Monitoring Unit officials who participated in the forceful invasion.
The reliefs sought include N2 billion as damages for trespass, N1billion for defamation, N1billion for breach of the Deed of Assignment, N1billion in combined claims against the Lagos State Government for alleged violation of property rights and trespass, N48.3 million as special damages for the demolished bungalow, and N50 million as cost of the suit.
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