An Ilorin High Court in Kwara has lifted the interim injunction restraining the state government from constructing anything on the civil service clinic land, otherwise known as ‘Ile Arugbo’.
Justice Abiodun Adebara, hearing the matter lifted the injunction following repeated failure of counsel to the claimant Asa Investment Limited to appear before the court to fully prosecute its case.
Asa Investment Limited, which was purportedly owned by the late Olusola Saraki, had taken the Kwara State Government to court after the latter reclaimed the land.
The state government declared that the said piece of land was unlawfully taken over by the firm without any right of occupancy or payment to the owner, the state government.
Justice Adebara, in his ruling awarded cost in the sum of N200, 000 to each of the four defendants; Kwara State Governor, Attorney General, House of Assembly and Bureau of Lands.
Adebara also awarded N50,000 to the police on account of the failure of the claimant to allow the case to proceed to hearing on various occasions.
The judge gave the ruling after counsel to the claimant, Akin Onigbinde (SAN) again failed to make an appearance when the case was called on Thursday.
Onigbinde instead sent a letter, accompanied with a medical report, saying he was advised to undergo bed rest between 3rd and 10th of August, 2020.
Gfhnews reports that the matter had suffered many adjournments at the instance of the claimant.
Counsel to the claimant, Onigbinde had again on July 8 agreed to an adjournment to July 22, but he later said he could not make the sitting.
That led to the adjournment to August 6 which Onigbinde again did not attend allegedly on medical grounds.
Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Salman Jawondo, who appeared for the government, said the claimant was deliberately wasting the time of the court.
He therefore urged the court to dismiss the case for lack of diligent prosecution and prayed the court to award N250, 000 as cost each against the claimant and in favour of the defendants.
Jawondo, who insisted that Asa Limited was just buying time with the numerous adjournments, wondered why other counsel to the claimant cannot continue with the case in the absence of lead counsel.
The Police, which is the fifth defendant in the case, aligned with the government’s position that the case should be struck out.
Justice Adebara lifted the injunction and also awarded only N200,000 each in favour of the first four defendants and another N50,000 in favour of the police.
The judge however adjourned the matter to September 23 and 24 to allow the claimant’s counsel to continue the case, warning that he would not grant any other adjournment after this.
The government had in January reclaimed the land which it said was originally meant for the construction of the civil service secretariat.
The government added that the said land was unlawfully released to a private firm in 2005 without any payment or certificate of ownership.
Asa Investment Limited, which claims ownership of the land, thereafter filled a motion before the court challenged the action of the government.
