Businessman sues Lagos pastor N800m for trespass

One Gerald Chukwueke and four others have dragged Lagos pastor, Paul Adefarasin, and the Incorporated Trustees of the Rock Foundation, before a Lagos State High Court in Igbosere over alleged trespass on a piece of land in the Lekki area of Lagos State.

The claimants, who sued Adefarasin and his church before Justice Olabisi Akinlade, are seeking damages in the sum of N800m from the defendants.

The other defendants in the suit marked LD/2514 LMW/2016 are Registrar of Titles at the Lagos State Land Registry and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state.

Chukwueke sued alongside Chinelo Chukwueke, Mrs. Martha Chukwueke, Germaine Logistics Limited and Germaine Auto Centre Limited.

On March 17, 2016 the claimants obtained an order of interim injunction restraining the defendants from further trespassing on the disputed land pending the hearing of their motion on notice.

Justice Akinlade, who made the order, barred the defendants from “demolishing or removing any structure whatsoever be they temporary or permanent on the claimants’ premises located at plots 15, 16, 17 and 18 located at 188 Ikate, Lekki, Lagos.”

The court also restrained the defendants from commencing “any development, construction, building or erecting any structure whether temporary or permanent in any manner whatsoever on the land.”

The defendants were also restrained from selling mortgaging the disputed land or pledging it as security in any manner or form.

The judge, while directing the claimants’ lawyer, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), to put the defendants on notice, said the interim order would lapse after seven days.

The claimants, in their motion on notice, claimed that the defendants began trespassing on their land since January this year.

They said upon noticing the alleged trespass, they instructed their lawyer to write to Adefarasin and the Incorporated Trustees of  the Rock Foundation, to which they claimed the defendants told them that they (the defendants) had acquired the said land.

According to the claimants, the defendants claimed that they had acquired the land by virtue of a Deed of Assignment registered as No. 98 in volume 2513, executed in their favour by Diamond Bank Plc.

The claimants, however,  alleged that after its investigation, it found out that the purported acquisition of the property was fraudulent.

The claimants accused the defendants of forging a Deed of Third Party Legal Mortgage purportedly executed between Diamond Bank Plc and the 4th and 5th defendants in favour of