Court strips late Ibadan strongman’s family of right to GRA property

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An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has stripped the late strongman of Ibadan politics, late Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu, of right of occupancy on a parcel of land allegedly belonging to him. 
The said property, measuring 0.5443 hectares, is situated at the Government Reservation Area, Iyaganku, Ibadan. 
The deceased’s sons, Prof. Abass and Alhaji Akeem, with the late politician’s wife, Alhaja Modinat, had filed a suit against the Governor of Oyo State; Mr Rasak Lawal; the Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Survey; and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the state.
The claimants in a suit marked 1/632/2016, had challenged the defendants praying the court to grant them an order that the statutory right of occupancy dated February 21, 2008, was valid and subsisting.
They prayed for a perpetual injunction restraining the government and other defendants from making use of a consent judgment that the court had earlier delivered against them.
The claimants wanted the court to set aside the earlier judgment which was delivered by Justice O.I Aiki claiming that it was obtained by fraud and non disclosure of facts. 
Also contained in their prayers is an order retraining the first defendant from further acts of trespass on any part of late Adedibu’s land.
The sons of the deceased were represented by their counsel, Mr A. T Adebayo, while Mr Bayo Azeez and O. A Ogunniran held the brief for the defendants.
The defendants asked the court to determine whether the claimants had been able to prove their title to the disputed land.
They also demanded that the court should determine whether the consent judgment  earlier secured from the court could be set aside by the court. 
Justice E.O Ajayi, said, “Justice cannot be done without knowing who has the burden of proof under adversary system of litigation in a claim for declaration of title to land.
“The law is trite that burden lies on the claimant who generally must rely on the strength of his own case and not on the weakness of the defendant’s issue. The onus is on the claimant to establish his case on the balance of probability.”
The judge held that it would only grant injunction to support a legal right.