The owner of Assets Filling Station, Ojoo, Ibadan, Alhaji Waheed Ajetunmobi, has dragged the Oyo State Government to court over the proposed demolition of his property.
The filling station had been reportedly marked for demolition and sealed by the state government for months on the ground that it contravened the planing and environmental law of the state.
Lead counsel to the plaintiff, Chief Niyi Akintola, however, said the case before Justice Segun Olagunju was instituted to determine the rationale behind the proposed demolition of the property.
Akintola argued that the owner had obtained valid Certificate of Occupancy from both the federal and state governments.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who noted that the plaintiff had filed a suit to stop the demolition since December 2019, wondered why the state government would start the demolition of the property without waiting for the verdict of court judgment.
Akintola said, “It is the case of lawlessness on the part of the Oyo State Government. There was allocation of land to my client by the state and federal government to build a petroleum station. The filing station has been built on it and it is on the Federal Government road.
“When the current administration came on board, the government showed interest in the property and that was why, when you look at the defense of the case filed in court, they were talking of political consideration.
“They were castigating the immediate past governor of the state that gave the approval for the construction. It will interest you to know that my client got approval from both federal and state governments.
“The land use act is very clear on it. The state government has no right to revoke any land that is not vested in its jurisdiction. Despite that, they still went ahead to remove the roof of the filling station.”
However, counsel to the state government, I.O. Tijani, argued that the property was acquired illegally and also contravened the planning and environmental law of Oyo State.
He added that the C of O being paraded by the plaintiff was not authentic on the ground that it was fraudulently obtained.
Citing a similar case between Lagos State and a resident of the state, Tijani said the court had ruled that only the state government had the right to exercise environmental law on properties within its jurisdiction.
