12th March, 2012
A suit seeking a court order to compel the Inspector General of Police, IGP, and eight others to pay N5 million to a Lagos-based businessman, Olawale Oguntoyinbo, has been filed at a Lagos High Court, Ikeja Division, southwest Nigeria.
Oguntoyinbo is asking for the money as damages for pains he suffered when the police at the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti Street, Yaba, Lagos detained and allegedly tortured him for three days between 29 June and 1 July 2011 over a land matter.
He also wants the money as compensation for embarrassment suffered when he could not attend his father’s burial slated for 1 July, 2011 as a result of the detention.
Named as defendants in the suit are the IGP, Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, Onikan; Lagos State Police Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner Of Police in charge of SCID, Panti, Lagos; Officer in charge of D5, SCID, Panti, Lagos, Inspector Sunday Olatunji, Mr. Sunday, Alhaja Adenike Bolanle Shonde and her husband, Mr. Shonde.
In a 10-paragraph affidavit in support of the motion, it was averred that sometime in late March 2011, Oguntoyinbo approached Alhaja Shonde for a loan to offset some personal debts and that Alhaja Shonde insisted that his company’s property at No. 41, Ekoro Road, Abule-Egba, Lagos be used as collateral for the loan.
Oguntoyinbo averred that Alhaja Shonde gave him the sum of N800,000 and transferred her truck (Iveco) to Oguntoyinbo to be used as part of the money advanced to him. He said that without waiting for the conclusion of the contract of sale, Shonde entered the property (a shopping complex) and began to lay claim to it.
It was further averred that Alhaja Shonde caused her solicitors to write letters to all the tenants on the property on 6 June, 2011 to vacate the premises and that when his wife visited the property on 9 May, 2011, Alhaja Shonde and her husband allegedly attacked her and the matter was reported to the police at Oke Odo Police Station in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State.
The applicant said he was ready to refund the alleged N4 million, Alhaja Shonde claimed he owed her, but she refused to collect the money.
He said the property belonged to his company, FANLOT and he needed his wife and other directors’ approval to sell it.
The police, in a counter-affidavit, denied detaining Oguntoyinbo, but said that they were only investigating a petition forwarded to the police by Alhaja Shonde, who alleged that Oguntoyinbo defrauded her to the tune of N4 million.
The police claimed that Oguntoyinbo only rushed to the court to frustrate police investigation and, therefore, urged the court to dismiss the application.
Alhaja Shonde and her husband, in a 56-paragraph affidavit, alleged that they handed over the sum of N4 million cash to Oguntoyinbo, in which an alleged execution of land agreement was made on the same day, at the same time and in the same place.
Alhaja Shonde averred that it was later that Oguntoyinbo informed her that the sale was void as he could not get the consent of the other directors.
Meanwhile, tenants in the shopping complex have been filing suits against Alhaja Shonde.
Uzor Uzendy and four others have filed suits against Alhaja Shonde, seeking a court order to return them to the disputed property.
Justice Opeyemi Oke has adjourned the suit for continuation of trial.