Police, Others Restrained from Taking over Bhodes Integrated Limited’s Land

Sunday Okobi

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has stopped the Nigeria Police from taking over a property in Jahi District, Abuja, belonging to Bhodes Integrated Limited.

A former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, is the Chairman of Bhodes Integrated Limited.

In an exparte motion filed through its counsel, Adebola Oyeneyin, at the weekend, the firm prayed the court to restrain the police from further erecting structures on the property.

In the exparte application with motion number M/5177/2020, the firm also joined the Nigeria Police, the Nigeria Police Force Property Development and Construction Company Limited, Minister of FCT and Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) in the suit.

The company had prayed the court for an order of interim injunction restraining the police and its property development company, which are first and second defendants in the case from taking over the land.

After arguing the exparte motion, the Presiding Judge, Justice AS Adepoju, held that: “Both parties, whether by themselves or by their servants, officers, agents, privies or otherwise, howsoever so described, are further restrained from trespassing, erecting, building, occupying, demolishing, disturbing, excavating of soil and altering the natural state or interfering with the Plot No. 237 measuring approximately 5957.18 m2 bounded by beacon numbers P82. P83, P86401, P86402 and P36403 Cadastral Zone BIS of Sector Centre A in Abuja and covered by an Offer of Statutory Right of Occupancy dated November 21, 2019, pending the hearing and the determination of the substantive suit.”

The case has been fixed for July l5, 2020, for hearing.

About three weeks ago, the company had written a petition to the chairman of Police Service Commission (PSC), dated June 5, 2020, over the taking over of the land.