BY INNOCENT ANABA

Lagos — The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta has re-assigned the case by businessman, Oba Otudeko against Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.
Both men are currently enmeshed in a legal battle over 10.841 square meters of land within the Lagos Ports Complex known as the 5th Apapa Wharf Extension.

The case was initially handled by Justice Ramat Mohammed, but was transferred to Justice Okechukwu Okeke, following Mohammed’s transfer out of Lagos.
However, Justice Auta has re-assigned the case to Justice Okon Abang. The latest development was sequel to Okeke’s retirement from the bench of the court and the case is to start de-novo (afresh) before Abang on January 21, 2014.

While Otudeko, through his company, Honeywell Group Limited, is urging the court to adjudge him as the valid owner of the land by virtue of a lease agreement between his company and the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Dangote is insisting that the agreement was neither turned into a deed nor registered in any Lands Registry.
Defendants in the suit are: NPA, Bureau of Public Enterprises, PBE, Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote and Greenview Development Nigeria Limited.

Honeywell Group said in the suit, that by an agreement, NPA leased the said land to it for five years for the purpose of setting up a bulk food handling facility for a consideration of N2.168 million per annum, adding that in keeping with the agreement, it paid the aforesaid amount and also paid N290, 000 for the survey of the land.
It added that it took possession of the land to the knowledge of the defendants and began the required technical investigations and expenditures necessary for the setting up of the bulk food handling facility, which was to cost about $100 million.

But Dangote, in his statement of defence, argued that that the suit was frivolous, vexatious and that it constituted an abuse of court process, adding that the suit was aimed at truncating the approved policy of the concessionaire of seaports of the Federal Government and to deter the progress of works and development being carried out by Greenview Development on the land.

He argued that no presidential consent was sought nor obtained before the lease agreement was granted to Honeywell Group in respect of the land, and that as part of the privatisation and commercialisation policy of the Federal Government, notices were given to the general public in 2003 for the concessioning of all the Nigeria seaports/complexes by the BPE.