Land Grab: Court Orders Arrest Of Osun Ex-deputy Gov, Haastrup

Chief Magistrate Ebiwari Eremasi Damini had issued warrant of arrest against Haastrup, directing the IGP and indeed any other police officer to arrest the accused person and bring him before the court for arraignment for contempt of court order, which is punishable by three years imprisonment. Haastrup was Osun state deputy governor when the late Senator Isiaka Adeleke was governor from January 1992 to November 1993. The warrant of arrest dated November 15, 2017 reads, ‘’Whereas Prince Clement Adesuyi Haastrup of 1847 Mohammed Mahathir street, Asokoro, FCT stands charged with offences of Section 144, 146 and 152 of the Penal Code, you are hereby directed to arrest the said Prince Clement Adesuyi Haastrup’’. The Court of Appeal in Abuja had on May 18, 2017 declared re-allocations of all the plots in the Apo XK Lay-out by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and Federal Capital Development Authority to ENL Consortium Limited and Federal Housing Authority as illegal, null and void. A group called ‘’Incorporated Trustees of Apo XK Extension Residents Association’’ made up of persons initially allocated over 200 plots of land in the XK Apo Layout had appealed the judgement of the FCT High Court in Abuja which held a judgement on May 27, 2011 in favour of the FCT Minister, FCDA and ENL Consortium Limited. While Yusuf Goya, Isah Aminu and the Incorporated Trustees of Apo XK Extension Residents Association are 1st to 3rd Appellants respectively, he FCT Minister, FCDA, FHA, ENL Consortium Limited and Dr Tumala Muhammed Musa are the 1st to 5th respondents respectively. Haastrup is the prime-mover of the ENL Consortium Limited. But in the unanimous judgement delivered by Justices Mohammed Mustapha, Emmanuel Akomaye Agim and Tani Yusuf Hassan, they ordered the FCT Minister, FCDA and ENL Consortium Limited to immediately abate the acts of trespass and to remove all machinery or personnel from the plots of land situated within XK Layout, Apo District which belongs to the appellants. In the lead judgement read by Justice Mustapha, he said, ‘’having resolved all the issues that call for determination in this appeal against the respondents, this appeal succeeds and it is allowed, the judgement of the trial court is hereby set aside “Based on the foregoing, it is further ordered that the allocation of the land in dispute to the 3rd respondent by the 1st and 2nd respondents is illegal and void.” ‘’The purported revocation of the titles of the plaintiffs to the land in disputes is illegal, and therefore void ‘’The 3rd respondent or their agents are ordered to abate the acts of trespass and remove all personnel or machinery from the land in dispute. Neither Haastrup, FCT Minister, FCDA, FHA nor the ENL Consortium Limited appealed the Court of Appeal judgement, but rather enlisting the Nigeria Police to disobey the court order and resorting to self-help. However, after 6 months of intransigence and refusal to obey the Court of Appeal order, on October 12, 2017, Court officials with the police finally evicted Haastrup and the ENL Consortium Limited. But following the reversal of the eviction on October 28, 2017 through self-help by Haastrup with the assistance of the same Nigeria Police, the original land owners have approached the FCT High Court sitting at Apo Abuja to make an order directing the police to enforce judgement of the court rather than assisting to disobey court order. Yusuf Goya and Aminu Isah filed the suit on behalf of the land owners against and named IGP as the vdefendant. According to the Trustees’ lawyer, Valentine Ovia, the court should make ‘’an order on the police to abate the forceful and illegal seizure and occupation of the appellants’ properties and lands at XK Layout, Apo FCT and vacate from the said properties and lands of the applicants immediately. This matter is slated to be heard today.]]>