By Nicholas Ojo
A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Abuja has granted Trademore International Holding Nigeria Ltd (developers of Trademore Estate in Abuja), an order for maintenance of status quo and an interim injunction.
Residents of Trademore Estate had protested and petitioned the FCTA Permanent Secretary through their lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), over the planned demolition of 60 houses in the residential estate.
The residents debunked insinuation that the estate has no development plan approval. They said the estate was developed in 2007 and no case of flooding was recorded until recently.
They also said the developer of the estate was properly allocated the land containing the estate and duly sought for and obtained Development Plan Approval for the development of the estate, building over 700 units of houses, through huge bank loans.
However, an order granted by Justice Zubairu Mohammed on Wednesday restrains all the Federal Government “defendants and their employees, agents, officials, privies and all those purporting to be acting for them or deriving title from them, and any other persons howsoever and whomsoever called, from trespassing, or further trespassing on, demolishing or further demolishing Trademore Estate”.
Prof Mike Ozekhome (SAN) had on behalf of Trademore Estate filed a suit against some Federal Government functionaries and agencies that had threatened to further demolish Trademore Estate in Abuja over issues relating to the flooding of the estate.
In the said writ of summons filed by Ozekhome, Trademore International Holding had amongst other reliefs, asked the court to restrain the Minister of FCT, the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) and the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) from demolishing the estate with the buildings and appurtenances thereon; or evicting the occupants from the said Trademore Estate.
The company also asked the court to restrain any of them from carrying out any fresh demolition exercise in the estate.
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.
It said it was clear that the three flooding incidents ever experienced in the estate since it was built in 2007, were all caused by acts of gross negligence occasioned by the Defendants; or through outright inaction by agents of the Federal Government.
It accused the government of 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 (owners of Trademore Estate).
The Plaintiff argue amongst others that if the Defendants 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, there would have been no incidence of flooding in the estate. Trademore Holding, therefore, sought from the court order for maintenance of status quo and also an ex parte order of interim injunction restraining all the Defendants or their agents from carrying out any act of demolition in the estate.
In the ex parte application argued on Wednesday, July 12 2023, by Benson Igbanoi Esq, leading Miss Vivian Oluchi Uche who was holding the brief of the plaintiff’s counsel, Ozekhome, Justice Mohammed granted all the Claimant’s injunctive reliefs against the federal government functionaries and agents.
He also specifically granted the second prayer asked for to wit, 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.
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