A group of international investors under the aegis of the Foreign Investors Network of Nigeria has filed a lawsuit against the Attorney General of the Federation, the Minister of Works, and HITECH Construction Company, seeking $250 million in damages over alleged unlawful demolition threats linked to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road project.

The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, is aimed at restraining the Federal Government and its contractors from demolishing an 18.8-hectare estate located in Okun-Ajah, Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State.

In a 15-page court filing, the plaintiff—Winhomes Global Services Estate—alleges that the defendants failed to follow due process in the realignment of the coastal road, which now cuts through its developed residential estate.

 “At no time was the plaintiff issued any statutory notice, demolition order, or given an opportunity to be heard,” the suit stated, describing the planned demolition as a gross violation of constitutional rights, particularly those protected under Sections 36 and 44 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Plaintiff’s counsel, Valerian Nadike, argued that the government and its agents violated the principle of fair hearing (audi alteram partem) by initiating destructive markings on the estate without lawful acquisition procedures, valid gazette publications, or any compensation.

“The attempted demolition amounts to executive lawlessness,” Nadike said, citing the landmark Supreme Court case Ojukwu v. Governor of Lagos State (1986). “No state authority, no matter how well-intentioned, can ride roughshod over constitutional rights.”

Among other reliefs, the plaintiff is seeking a judicial declaration that the marking and threat of demolition are illegal, null, and void, having been undertaken without any lawful justification.

While the court has not yet scheduled a hearing date, the defendants have 30 days from the date of service to enter an appearance and respond to the claims.

Nadike emphasized that the case raises critical constitutional questions regarding the limits of governmental powers in executing infrastructure projects.

“If actions like these are allowed to go unchecked, they will set a dangerous precedent about how citizens and law-abiding businesses can be treated in the name of development,” he concluded.