Wale Igbintade
A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has nullified the Federal Government’s acquisition of over 292 hectares of ancestral land belonging to the Onigbanko community in Irede, along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, holding that the exercise violated due process and constitutional safeguards.
In a landmark judgment delivered by Justice Abdulfattah Lawal, the court held that the acquisition failed to comply with the legal requirements governing compulsory acquisition of land, including the service of statutory notices, payment of compensation, and the requirement that such acquisition must be for a genuine public purpose.
The court also awarded the Onigbanko community N300 million in damages for trespass and unlawful occupation of the land, in addition to N12 million as costs.
The suit, marked ID/5709/2025, was filed by Oba Sheriff Adesina Bello, the Onigbanko of Igbanko, and other representatives of the community against Nasco Investment & Property Company Limited and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Lawal upheld the submissions of the claimants’ counsel, Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN, that the defendants failed to establish compliance with the mandatory statutory procedures for compulsory land acquisition.
A key issue in the case was the defendants’ inability to prove that statutory notices of acquisition were served on the affected landowners.
The judge described the omission as fatal to the validity of the acquisition, noting that there was no evidence showing when, or even whether, the notices were served.
He further observed that neither the notice of acquisition nor the relevant government gazette was tendered before the court.
According to the court, without proof that the statutory notices were served, the acquisition could not lawfully extinguish the community’s proprietary rights over the land.
Justice Lawal also dismissed the defendants’ contention that the suit was statute-barred, holding that the limitation period could not begin to run in the absence of evidence showing when the claimants were notified of the acquisition.
The court equally rejected objections challenging the claimants’ legal standing and alleging abuse of court process, ruling that the defendants failed to prove that the acquisition had been lawfully completed.
On compensation, the court found no evidence that the community was paid as required by law.
Justice Lawal rejected the argument that the excision of part of the land constituted compensation and held that the alleged waiver of compensation by the community was unsupported by evidence.
The court further found that although the land was originally acquired for the Nigerian Navy—a recognised public purpose—it was subsequently transferred to Nasco Town Limited and later to Nasco Estate and Property Development Company for private commercial development.
Relying on lease and sublease agreements tendered in evidence, Justice Lawal held that the land was effectively used to compensate Nasco rather than for the public purpose stated at the time of acquisition.
He ruled that such diversion rendered the acquisition unlawful, stressing that a private commercial venture does not become a public purpose merely because it may offer incidental benefits to the public.
Consequently, the court declared the acquisition unconstitutional, illegal, null and void, set it aside, and restrained the defendants from further occupation or development of the land.
In addition to nullifying the acquisition, Justice Lawal awarded the claimants N300 million as damages for trespass and unlawful occupation, as well as N12 million in costs.
The judgment is expected to serve as a significant precedent on compulsory land acquisition in Nigeria, reaffirming that governments must strictly comply with statutory procedures, pay adequate compensation, and ensure that land acquired for public purposes is not diverted to private commercial use.
