Bank Dragged To Court Over Trespass On Land

Ten children of deceased Lagos businessman, Anicetus Ibhagbe Eikore, have slammed N50 million suit on Diamond Bank Plc for trespass and shoddy dealings on their father’s land lying at 105 St. Finbarrs Road, near CMS Grammar School, Bariga, Lagos, southwest Nigeria.

The bank claimed to have purchased the property from a limited liability company, Ablag, who allegedly bought the property from Ibhagbe Eikore in 2006, though the man died in 1990.

Joined as co-defendant is the limited liability company, Ablag Company Nigeria Limited.

The children of Ibhagbe Eikore who are claimants in the suit, in their amended statement of claim filed on their behalf in an Ikeja high court by a Lagos lawyer, Barrister Jide Zaid, alleged that the landlord building lying at 105 St. Finbarrs Road, Bariga was legally vested in their father, the late Anicetus Ibhagbe Eikore who died interstate on the 2 November, 1990. He exercised right of ownership thereon since 1967 and throughout his life time without any encumbrances and after his death the property was vested in the children.

It was further averred that after the death of their father, the eldest son, John Osemeahon Eikore was mutually allowed to live there until December, 2007 when one of the children, Miss Lucy Eikore noticed that the building has been demolished and Diamond Bank office built on the land.

Efforts made by the claimants to invite John Osemeahon to a family meeting to clarify his dealing with Diamond Bank proved abortive and since then his whereabouts became unknown. John was alleged to be 16 years old in 1967 when their late father bought the property.

Investigation allegedly revealed that Ablag Company acting as a front for some directors of Diamond Bank purportedly bought the property from  a man purported to be Mr. Anicetus Ibhagbe Eikore in 2006 though the man died in 1990.

The claimant averred further that Ablag company sold the property without any title to Diamond Bank for the sum of N25 million out of which he gave the  impersonator and his agent who posed as the late Ibhagbe Eikore the sum of N16,900,000, thus making a profit of N8 million from the deal, as N100,000 has earlier been deposited.

The claimants, apart from claiming the sum of N50 million as damages jointly and severally against the defendants, urged the court to declare that the family property could not have been sold to the defendant in 2006 by the deceased who died on 2 November, 1990 at the age of  80 years.

However, in a statement of defence, filed by a Lagos lawyer, Mr. Segun Ololade, on behalf of the defendant, Diamond Bank averred that it purchased the land in issue from Ablag Company who bought same from Anicetus Ibhagbe Eikore and, therefore, it was a purchase without notice of any existing encumbrances and it was not disturbed by anybody when their building was under construction.