Court Orders Lawyer To Pay Landlord N7. 2m Rent

A Lagos State Magistrates’ Court sitting in Ebute Metta Lagos has ordered a Lagos lawyer, Gbadebo Adeniyi, to pay the sum of N7.2 million as rent and profit due from over two years accumulated rent to his landlord, Justice Ijem Owuameagbe.

Magistrate Olalekan Aka-Basorun gave the order while delivering judgment on the case, which the lawyer failed to defend.

Adeniyi had in September 2017 moved into a two-bedroom apartment situated at 1004 Estates, Victoria Island Lagos at the rate of N3 million per annum.

He, however, refused to either move out of the premises or renew the tenancy until the suit was instituted.

Defendant packed out of the apartment on May 25, 2021 with outstanding sum of N7,250,000 representing two years and five months’ rent and mesne profit.

The trial magistrate, Aka-Basorun in the judgement delivered on May 26 then ordered that the said Mr. Gbadebo Obisesan Adeniyi to pay the claimant the sum of N7,250,000.00 (seven million two hundred and fifty thousand naira) as judgement debt.

Neither the defendant nor his counsel appeared in court during the trial until court closed the case despite evidence of service on the counsel, Thompson Onoja.

In his judgment, Aka-Basorun “ordered that the defendant shall pay the claimant immediately the sum of N7, 250,000.00, which represent the outstanding sum of N1,250,000.00 from January 2019 to June to June 2019 and mesne profit of N6, 000,000.00 from June, 2019 until 25th Day of May 2021 when the defendant vacated the said premises.”