A Federal High Court, Lagos, on Tuesday fixed
February 6 to hear a suit filed by Oba Otudeko against Alhaji Aliko Dangote and
the Nigerian Ports Authority over a land dispute.
Justice Okon Abang adjourned the case at the
instance of the counsel to Dangote, Mrs Fola Sowemimo, to enable her to file
written statement on oath.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that
Otudeko, Chairman of Honeywell Group, had filed the suit in 2006 at Justice
Ramat Mohammed’s court.
He is claiming $48m against the defendants as
damages for breach of contract over a 10.8 square metres of land within the
Lagos Ports Complex, known as the 5th Apapa Wharf Extension.
In the suit, the NPA, Bureau of Public
Enterprises, Dangote Industries Ltd, Dangote and Greenview Development Nig.
Ltd, are listed as first, second, third, fourth and fifth defendants
respectively.
NAN reports that the suit was subsequently
transferred to Justice Abang after the retirement of Mohammed.
When the case came up on Tuesday, counsel to the
plaintiff, Dr. Joseph Nwobike (SAN), told the court that the case was slated
for trial.
According to Nwobike, he is faced with the
challenge of retrieving the exhibits tendered before the former judge.
The counsel, therefore, asked for an adjournment
to enable him to retrieve the exhibits.
Meanwhile, counsel for the third, fourth and
fifth defendants, Sowemimo, has argued that the case was not yet ripe for
hearing since the defence had yet to file its written statement on oath.
She urged the court to grant an adjournment in
favour of the defence, adding that “since the defence was unprepared it would
serve the interest of justice to give them time to regularise.”
Abang had in a bench ruling adjourned the case to
February 6 and ordered the defence to file its written statement before the
next date of adjournment.
In his statement of claim, Otudeko averred that
by an agreement, NPA leased the land to him for five years for N2.2m yearly.
He said the land was to be used for the setting
up a bulk food handling facility, adding that in keeping with the agreement, it
paid the amount and additional N290,000 for survey.
According to the plaintiff, the BPE suddenly
suspended his pre-existing rights, and granted the concession to Greenview
Development Ltd belonging to Dangote.
He said that NPA and BPE later asked him to
vacate the facility to ensure its smooth transfer to the new operator.
Otudeko averred that Dangote, through his agents,
harassed, threatened and ordered his employees to vacate the land.
He said by the forceful eviction, he lost the
profit he would have made and was “greatly injured in his business.”
Otudeko urged the court to declare Honeywell
Group as the exclusive legal occupier of the land and to restrain the
defendants from treating it as a stranger or trespasser on the land.
He also wants the sum of $48m as damages for
additional expenses
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