Abuja Land Owners Sue FCT Minister for Trespass

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Sen. Bala Mohammed

Patrick Ugeh in Abuja
     
Owners of some 1,000 plots of land, most of them already home to thriving businesses at Zaudan and Filindabo Layouts in Dei-Dei in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have dragged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Sen. Bala Mohammed, to court for trespassing and interfering with their land by allocating it to other people.

The plaintiffs, represented by the Chairman of the Overlapped Zauda Property and Land Owners Union, Friday Ugoala, Mr. Chioke Ephraim and Edwin Ike, are seeking a declaration that the allocation of their plots of land to the defendant’s agents, privies, or any other such person was unlawful, illegal, null and void.

They are also asking for an order of the court directing the minister to reinstate the plaintiffs’ land as well as an injunction restraining the defendant, his agents, privies, or any other such person from dealing with any person in respect of the said land except those authorised by the plaintiffs or their members.

In the statement of claim filed by the plaintiff’s counsel, Nwoke Kalu, the land owners averred that between 1998 and 1999, they were allocated the said plots of land by the then Minister of the FCT, and that they later paid the necessary fees and got the land regularised.

He said they had made several efforts through the unregistered name, Overlapped Zauda Property and Land Owners Union, to write and inform the defendant about their land but to no avail until 16 July 2013 when they were registered as Zaudan Pazeri Property Owners Association by the Corporate Affairs Commission.

When the suit came up for mention at the High Court of the FCT, the Judge, Justice Banjoko adjourned the case to 15 January 2015 to enable the defendants file their defence.