Some former residents and tenants of an AMCON building at No Yusuf Oloriede St., Olodi – Apapa have protested against the execution of a fraudulently obtained judgment from the Magistrates Court 5 Apapa presided over by Magistrates N. A. Layeni, Esq., which they termed a “Kangaroo Judgment”.
The judgment which was executed on the 4th of April, 2023 was obtained on the 24th November, 2023 from the Magistrates Court 5 Apapa without the knowledge of the tenants and resident with the complicity of the Court Sheriffs who deposed to affidavits of service by pasting, without actually pasting the processes on the subject – matter property.
In a press statement and a petition addressed to the Chief Judge of Lagos State, obtained from their Lawyer, Femi Dodo, Esq. it was gathered that the victims were tenants when AMCON took over the property from one Louis Carter and listed the property for sale. The tenants/resident, who were desirous of acquiring the property submitted their bid but did not get any response from AMCON. They thereafter appointed Prof. Maurice Fangnon, Secretary General of the Centre for the Defence of Human Rights & Democracy in Africa [CDHRDA] to negotiate with AMCON on their behalf.
After the CDHRDA wrote its first letter and AMCON requested for the tenants bid, one Chima Owuogba who was then the chairman/caretaker of the residents of the property, took the advantage and wrote a first offer letter on behalf of the tenants and residents of the property, offering the sum of ₦64,000,000.00 [sixty four million naira] as their bid for the property.
AMCON replied the 1st offer, stating that the offer was below their property’s asking price of ₦155,000,500.00 [one hundred and fifty five million five hundred naira] and asked the tenants to improve their offers. The CDHRDA Human Rights NGO wrote a second offer letter and offered the sum of ₦100,000,000.00 [one hundred million naira] for the property but AMCON did not reply the second offer for N100,000,000.00 [one hundred million naira] up to date.
While the residents were preparing to get bank loan to purchase the property, AMCON went ahead to organize a fictitious and fraudulent auction and sold the property at an undervalue price, to one CHIGOZIE HENRY AGUGUO who was not even among the top 5 bidders in the auction for the sum of N80,100,000.00 [eighty million one hundred thousand naira], against the tenants/residents’ offer of N100,000,000.00 [one hundred million naira].
After selling the property, AMCON attempts of forceful eviction of the tenants were resisted by the tenants who filed an action at the Magistrates Court Apapa, in suit No MISC/289/2021 to restrain the forceful eviction by AMCON and Henry Aguguo.
The court granted an interim order of Injunction but struck the suit upon an objection filed by AMCON on the ground of failure to serve Pre – action notices. The pre action notices were later served and the matter with a new suit No MISC/MCA/091/2022 was re – filled and is now pending before the Apapa Magistrates Court 2.
The tenants/residents also filed an action at the Federal High Court, Lagos in suit Number FHC/L/CS/1724/2021, pending before Hon. Justice ALLAGOA, asking the Federal High Court to set aside the auction and the sale of the property at an undervalue price for been fraudulent. Rather than await the outcome of the above suits AMCON proceeded to file seven [7] separate suits for recovery of premises against the tenants/residents.
While all the above suits were pending at the Federal High Court, Lagos and the Magistrates Courts 2, 5, 9 & 8 and while the tenants/residents were defending the seven [7] suits for recovery of possession filed by AMCON; MR HENRY AGUGUO who purportedly bought the property and is the 5th defendant in the suit pending before the Federal High Court proceeded to SECRETLY file another case in SUIT NO. MCA/2439/2022 for recovery of the same premises. The matter was assigned to Court 5 presided over by Magistrate N. A. LAYENI.
In the fresh suit NO. MCA/2439/2022 filed by MR. HENRY AGUGUO, he described the tenants whose name and identities are well known to him as “UNKNOWN OCCUPIERS” and connived with one Sherriff JINADU MOHAMED, who FRAUDULENTLY deposed to an affidavit of service without actually pasting the originating processes on the premises.
After the Judgment was delivered by the Lagos state Magistrates Court 5 sitting at Ajegunle and presided over by Magistrate N. A. LAYENI on the 24th November, 2022, Mr. Chigozie Henry Aguguo filed a motion to force open the premises and one Deputy Sherriff Samuel Oniagba fraudulently deposed to an affidavit stating that the tenants have locked the doors to the premises despite the fact that the tenants/residents were living in the premises until the day the same Deputy Sherriff Samuel Oniagba came to execute the judgment.
The tenants have now challenged the execution of the judgment and three of the tenants deposed to counter – affidavit to the affidavit of service by Sherriff JINADU MOHAMED along with the application to set aside the judgment delivered the Lagos State Magistrates Court 5 sitting at Ajegunle and presided over by Magistrate N. A. LAYENI on the 24th November, 2022. The application was argued on the 11th May and despite several affidavits of urgency filed along with the application to set aside the judgment, the Court adjourned and reserved ruling for the 15th June, 2023.
The tenants counsel, Mr. Femi Dodo, Esq. has written a petition to the Chief Judge asking for disciplinary actions to be taken against the court sheriffs who perjured in the course of their duties and vowed pursue the matter to a logical conclusion. Mr. Femi Dodo is also of the strong view that AMCON itself is a big engine of neo – liberal capitalist fraud created by the Nigerian ruling class to wash the economic buttock of their friends in business and that AMCON’s “jerimaian lamentations” about its inability to recover over 4 Trillion naira debts is nothing but a hoax and self – inflicted.
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