in court after a disagreement relating to property.
The suit is slated for hearing on January 21 and was filed by Oba
Otudeko against Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man.
The subject in contention is the ownership of a parcel of land
measuring 10.841 square metres located within the Lagos Ports Complex
known as 5th Apapa Wharf Extension.
Daily Independent reports:
While Otudeko, through his company, Honeywell Group Limited, wants the
court to adjudge him as the valid owner of the land by virtue of a
lease agreement between the firm and the Nigerian Ports Authority
(NPA), Dangote is insisting that the agreement was neither turned into
a deed nor registered in any Lands Registry.
Otudeko is alleging in the suit that Dangote and his company actually
procured and induced the NPA to break the initial agreements and legal
relations in respect of the disputed land.
The case was initially handled by Justice Ramat Mohammed but was later
transferred to Justice Okechukwu Okeke following Mohammed's transfer
out of Lagos.
However, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta,
has re-assigned the matter to Justice Okon Abang.
The latest development was occasioned by Okeke's retirement from the
bench of the court.
The matter is to start de-novo (afresh) before Abang on January 21.
Honeywell Group had in the suit listed NPA, Bureau of Public
Enterprises (PBE), Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote and
Greenview Development Nigeria Limited as co-defendants.
According to the statement of claim, Honeywell Group averred 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.
The plaintiff (Honeywell Group) noted 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.
The plaintiff added that despite being aware of its massive
development plans on the land, the BPE suddenly suspended the
pre-existing rights by concessioning NPA's Apapa Ports Complex,
including the 5th Apapa Wharf Extension, to Greenview Development
Limited, a company related to Dangote.
Honeywell Group added that NPA and BPE later asked it to vacate the
facility to ensure smooth transfer to new operator, alleging that
Dangote and his company actually procured and induced the NPA to break
the initial agreements and legal relations.
The plaintiff alleged that Dangote, through his agents, harassed,
threatened and ordered its officials to vacate the land.
Besides, the plaintiff argued that BPE lacked the power under its so
called port reforms, to take over and alienate NPA's assets when the
NPA Act has neither been amended nor did any valid resolution of the
appropriate body supports such action.
By the eventual forceful eviction from the land, the plaintiff
submitted that it lost the profit it would have made and was greatly
injured in its business. Even, the plaintiff stressed that by virtue
of the action of the defendants, the cost of putting up the
contemplated structure had risen from $100 million to $148 million.
The plaintiff is, therefore, urging the court to declare it as the
exclusive legal occupier of the land and to restrain the defendants
from treating it as stranger or trespasser on the land.
It also wants $48 million damages, being the additional expenses
required to build the bulk food handling facility.
But Dangote, in his statement of defence, is arguing 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 Nigerian
Seaports/Complexes by the BPE.
Under the policy, Dangote explained that all existing leases/licences
of land at Nigeria's seaports were affected, and that fresh bids
were required for the concessioning of all the various seaports in
Nigeria.
The defendants added that Greenview was eventually granted the
concessionaire approval by the Federal Government of Terminal 'E'
of Apapa Ports covering an area of 19.091 hectares, and that it was
untrue that the plaintiff had ever been in occupation of the land
known as the 5th Apapa Wharf Extension.
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