By Innocent Anaba
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, weekend, restrained the Implementation Committee of the White Paper on the Commission of Inquiry on Federal Government Landed Property and its agents from evicting the occupants of  1, Rumens Roads, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Trial judge in the matter, Justice Okechukwu Okeke, also restrained Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc, Transcorp, from participating in evicting the occupants from  the said property.

The order was sequel to application by plaintiffs in the matter, who are also occupants of the property, namely Lt. Col. Godwin Okon, Bello Morenike, Joseph Bassey, Akinyeke Akinyeke and J. Bentem.

Trial judge adjourned the case to July 6, 2010 for the hearing of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction, after directing  the plaintiffs to give an undertaking as to the damages,  should it turn out that the order of interim injunction ought not to have been made.

Surprisingly, in spite of the court order, the tenants were at the weekend forcefully evicted from the property with a bulldozer, which demolished same under the supervision of  security operatives.

In their affidavit in support of the motion ex-parte, the plaintiffs averred that as civil servants and occupiers of the property, the guideline governing the alienation of Federal Government landed property allows them to buy the property, adding that when they indicated interest to purchase the property, the committee by its letter dated 24/10/05 offered the property to them for the sum of N375 million plus additional five per cent as administrative costs.

According to them, as part of the express terms of the said offer letter requiring them to sign a letter of acceptance and make a 10 percent down payment of the consideration of N375m within 14 days of the date of the offer letter, they promptly signed the acceptance form and made a part payment of N37 million to the committee.

They added that the offer letter also provided that they also raise and pay another 15 percent of the consideration of the property within a period of 90 days from the date of making the part payment of 10 percent, but surprisingly, before the expiration of the said 90 days, the committee through a letter date December 20, 2005 purportedly withdrew the offer letter from them.

They meanwhile, accused the Committee of deliberately delaying the lodgement of their bank draft for part_payment or even return same for a period of about 44 days in order to ensure that they lose the opportunity of purchasing the property and thus create grounds for the withdrawal of the offer from them.

According to them, they they later discovered that the Committee  had sold the same  property to Transcorp in violation of the existing guidelines concerning the alienation of the Federal Government landed property as their rights as sitting tenants were grossly breached.