A widow and her children have dragged the Ondo State deputy governor, Olayide Owolabi Aderemi, before a High Court of Justice of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja, over their 2,500-square-meter family plot of land.
The widow, Mrs Aduke Fasan, Oliwaseyi Fasan, and Ibukunoluwa Fasan, plaintiffs, cried before the court for justice.
According to them, the property was legitimately allocated to the family’s late patriarch, Mr. Ayomide Fasan.
At the heart of the tussle is the deputy governor, who is laying claim to the same plot of land in Kaura District, Abuja, which the Fasan family insists was secured by their late patriarch as far back as 2000.
Documents revealed that the land with Statutory Right of Occupancy No FCT/ABU/OD.700, measuring 2,500 square metres and located at Plot 900, Kaura (B11)District, FCT, was initially allocated to the Fasan family on February 2, 2000.
Trouble started in 2004 when the widow’s husband stole the original papers. This development prompted the family to file an “affidavit of loss of document” and publish newspaper articles for re-certification.
According to court documents, the late Mr Fasan applied to AGIS for Re-certification of Rights of Occupancy dated December 13, 2004.
Application for Certified True Copies of the original documents was also made through C.E. Manag and Co. law firm on April 29th, 2005.
But since the family filed the application, AGIS has not responded, a development that caused the law firm of C.E. Manag and Co. to write a reminder letter dated August 21, 2006.
Following the law firm’s reminder letter, the Director of Lands in AGIS subsequently approved the application in a letter dated September 22, 2008.
However, due to administrative delays and bottlenecks at AGIS, the process of Re-certification was not completed before the demise of the widow’s husband in 2011.
With the death of the widow’s husband, the records show that the family again made another push for Re-certification of the allocation of the land through another letter referenced OAK/DLA/KRA/015 dated October 6, 2022.
But surprisingly, during a follow-up of that letter for Recertification, the family was informed that the Recertification process had since been concluded and a Certificate of Occupancy had been conveyed.
“This was incredibly shocking and dismaying to us because there is no evidence within our records that they ever received such communication. The collection process of a sensitive document, such as a C-of-O, even when done by proxy, ought to have required a letter of authority from the original owner, and a valid means of identification and face capture to be tendered.
“But to our amazement, there was no record of compliance with such a mandatory procedure,” a source at the lands department who preferred not to be named said.
Upon this discovery, the family undertook a routine physical visit to the land and discovered it had suddenly been fenced completely. A cement brick-making facility was also operating on the property.
It was further gathered that this prompted the Fasan family to visit AGIS to conduct a preliminary search on the status of the land.
But to their further shock, they discovered “clear evidence of manipulation of the existing records in the file, in favour of a strange, third party.”
The search revealed that another file with file number OD 10089 was created on the 25th of August 2000 over the same plot.
Based on this development, the family again wrote to the FCT Administration in a letter dated 17 July 2023, referencing OAK/DLA/KRA/016, and requested the placement of an Administrative Caveat over the land, which was promptly approved and implemented.
But despite the caveat placed on the land, the family alleged that those acting under the instructions of the Ondo State Deputy Governor proceeded with the illegal construction, thus undermining constituted authorities.
The deputy governor’s legal team is alleged to rely heavily on constitutional immunity, which protects him from prosecution while in office.
But beyond the legal crossfire, however, lies the personal anguish of a widow and her children. With every block on the contested site, a source told journalists they are reminded of a father’s dream being buried under bricks of injustice.
“This is not just about land,” the source explained, quoting a family member as saying, “It is about dignity, memory, and the rights of ordinary Nigerians who must be protected from political predators.”
In his defence, the deputy governor, through his lawyers from Idi Danabubakar and Co., stated in a notice of preliminary objection submitted at the FCT High Court that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the matter.
The lawyers argued that the defendant is currently the Deputy Governor of Ondo State and, as such, enjoys immunity from the trial initiated by the family under the suit by virtue of Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution (As amended).
“The first defendant (Olayide Owolabi Adelami), immediately after his tenure as Deputy Governor of Ondo State, can then be subjected to the trial under the suit at hand.”
