The former Attorney General of Bayelsa State and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Anthony George-Ikoli, has petitioned the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Ologba, seeking clarification over the withdrawal of a land matter, in which he was representing a client before Justice Akin Savage of the State High Court, Ikeja, without notifying him or his client.
The letter, signed by Ms Ayotunde Shabi of his chambers, noted that the case, which was filed in 2020, had not progressed significantly beyond the pre-trial stage.
The lawyer expressed concern that the sudden withdrawal of the file, without explanation, had heightened the claimant’s anxiety and raised questions about the transparency and impartiality of the judicial process.
Parties in the suit are Nasco Town Limited (claimant) and Mr Abiodun Ariori, the late Chief Michael Mojisola Cole’s family and others as the defendants.
The SAN expressed dismay during the last hearing on April 15, when the trial judge informed him in the open court that the CJ had withdrawn the case file without further explanation regarding the reason for his action.
He urged the Chief Judge to clarify the purpose of the withdrawal, stressing that such information was necessary to properly advise and reassure his client, especially given the indefinite adjournment of the case.
Also, in a separate letter to the CJ, the claimant, Nasco Town Limited, warned that the situation could suggest external interference.
In the letter signed by its Executive Coordinator, Dr Mustapha Sulaiman, the company expressed concern that while the defendants appeared to have prior knowledge of the file’s withdrawal, the claimant was neither notified nor allowed to respond to any complaint or petition that may have prompted the action.
Nasco outlined its long-standing possession of the land, stating that it had been in peaceful and uninterrupted possession since 1978 under a lease granted by the Federal Government.
The company said it had carried out extensive development on the property, including land reclamation, construction, and the granting of a sublease to Michelin Tyres Limited in 1981.
It added that the land was later designated a Free Trade Zone following its application, and that development of its industrial section was underway before the dispute arose in 2018 when the defendants allegedly invaded the land forcefully, claiming to enforce a 1997 Consent Judgment in favour of the late Chief Cole, to which Nasco was not a party.
Nasco further stated that investigations showed that the Consent judgment had already been executed on a different parcel of land, adding that the late Chief Cole neither claimed nor visited the disputed land during his lifetime.
The company said its initial legal action in 2018 was handled by Justice Olaide Olayinka, but was delayed due to difficulties in serving the defendants until the Judge retired.
In the current suit filed in 2020, the defendants, it claimed, continued to evade service until the court granted an order for substituted service, adding that the matter has been plagued by repeated adjournments and procedural delays caused by the defendants.
Against this backdrop, Nasco described the sudden withdrawal of the case file as deeply troubling, given what it described as unequal access to information between the parties.
In this article