A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, sitting in Jikwoyi, on Wednesday, granted an order of interim injunction stopping the Federal Government from trespassing or demolishing the Trademore estate located in Lugbe, Abuja.
The court presided over by Justice Zubairu Mohammed granted the developers of the estate – Trademore International Holding Nigeria Ltd an order for maintenance of the status quo.
The judge made the order after hearing the ex-parte application argued by Benson Igbanoi, Esq, leading Vivian Oluchi Uche and holding the brief of the plaintiff’s counsel, Mike Ozekhome, SAN.
The senior advocate had, on behalf of the estate, filed the suit against some functionaries and agencies of the FG who had threatened to demolish the estate over flooding concerns.
The PUNCH reported that following a heavy downpour in the early hours of Friday, June 23, no fewer than 100 buildings located in Trademore Estate were submerged in water.
Following the incident, the FG threatened to demolish the estate.
In the writ of summons filed by Ozekhome, SAN, the developers amongst other reliefs, urged the court to restrain the respondents – the Minister of FCT, the Federal Capital Development Authority, the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council and the Abuja Municipal Area Council from demolishing the property.
The developers further prayed the court to stop the FG from evicting the occupants from the said estate; or from trespassing in any manner, into the estate; or interfering with the plaintiff’s exclusive right of ownership and possession of the said property.
Trademore Holding in the main suit complained to the court about earlier “illegal, wanton and unconscionable demolition of buildings belonging to innocent occupants in the estate by agents of the defendants.”
The plaintiff argued that “it was manifestly clear that the three floods ever experienced in the estate since it was built in 2007, were all caused by acts of gross negligence on the part of the defendants or through outright inaction by agents of the Federal Government, by refusing to implement any of the anti-flooding measures jointly devised and agreed upon at various meetings and through several correspondences by representatives of the Federal government and Trademore Holding International Ltd”.
Besides, the plaintiff argued, that if the FG through the Ecological Fund had not built a very narrow carnal instead of a huge bridge to allow free passage of water coming from a now broken down and disused dam that runs through several adjoining settlements, coupled with several unstrained excavatory acts of other developers in the area, there would have been no incidence of flooding in the estate.
Following, the plaintiff sought from the court an order for maintenance of status quo and also an ex parte order of interim injunction restraining all the defendants, or their agents, from trespassing or destroying the estate, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.
The Judge, Justice Zubairu Mohammed granted all the claimant’s injunctive reliefs against the FG.
He also granted the second prayer that “all parties maintain status quo, while the Motion on Notice and Writ of Summons be served on the Defendants forthwith”.
The Judge thereafter adjourned the motion on notice for hearing to September 22, 2023.
