By Bartholomew Madukwe

After nine years of litigation over an estate occupied by employees and former employees of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited, a Lagos High Court in Igbosere has ruled that the occupants should purchase thirty housing units in the estate.

The suit was instituted on November 29, 1995, by Mr. James Ntui Ntui on behalf of 29 employees/former employees of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited, who had occupied the defendant’s Satellite Town Estate, Lagos.

In the suit LD/4868/95, the claimants contended that the defendant’s estate, comprising various housing units, developed for the purpose of providing temporary official accommodation for its staff, belong to them under the “Staff Housing Scheme by Employers of Labour” initiated in 1977 by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

At the resumed hearing, the parties told the court that they had accepted certain terms as full and final settlement of all their respective claims and counterclaims.
The terms include: “The defendant shall sell to the claimants and the claimants shall purchase from the defendant, the thirty housing units in the Estate occupied by the claimants.

Terminal benefits
”The defendant shall deduct the purchase price payable by each claimants, the 25% terminal benefits specified in the final wage liquidation form signed by the claimants, at the time of retirement from the defendant’s employment.

”If the said 25% of the terminal benefits retained by the defendant is less than the purchase price specified in the schedule against a claimant’s name, the defendant shall waive the difference in favour of the relevant claimant.”

Counsel to the defendant, Mr. A. Anibaba, asked the court to adopt the terms of settlement as judgment in the case, while counsel to the claimants, Dr. Fred Okeke, aligned himself with the position of the defendant.
Sequel to parties’ agreement to resolve the issues in dispute amicably, the presiding judge, Justice Ebenezer Adebajo, ruled “that the terms of settlement dated February 27, 2014 duly executed by the parties in this suit and endorsed by their respective counsel is hereby entered as the judgment of the court.”