Lagos Wins Eko Court Towers In Supreme Court

It’s thumbs down for Nigeria’s graft and corruption.

Nigeria’s Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by the estate of late Chief J. O. Adeyemi-Bero against the Lagos State Government on the ownership of Plot 177, Victoria Island (now known as Eko Court Towers) and 25 Cooper Road, Ikoyi Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

The original appellant, late Chief J. O. Adeyemi-Bero, a retired Permanent Secretary in the state civil service filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Nigeria asking that the properties known as Plot 177 Victoria Island, Lagos and 25 Cooper Road, Ikoyi, Lagos be reverted to him as owner.

The properties at Plot 177, Victoria Island and 25, Cooper Road, Ikoyi Lagos were forfeited to the Lagos State Government by virtue of the determination of interests in state land No.1, Order LSLN No.9 of 1976 made pursuant to section 1 of the determination of certain interests in Land Edict No.3 of 1976 and Public Officers and Other Persons (Forfeiture of Assets) Order 1976 made pursuant to Investigation of Assets (Public Officers and Other Persons) Decree 1968, respectively.

The assets were seized by the Murtala Muhammed administration in 1976, the first government in Nigeria’s history that tried to punish corrupt public officers who had enriched themselves illegally.

In 1993, the Federal Military Government of General Ibrahim Babangida promulgated the Forfeiture of Assets (Release of Certain Forfeited Properties etc.) Decree No. 54 of 1993, in which the name of Mr. J.O. Adeyemi-Bero was listed and the properties in dispute were returned to him, a move then condemned by critics as giving official nod to gross abuse of office. 

The state government, however, refused to release the properties and the appellant filed a suit No. M/415/95 against the state government.

The government petitioned the Federal Military Government on the release of the properties to the appellant. Therefore, subsequent to the delivery of the judgment, the Federal Military Government of General Sanni Abacha on 3 July, 1996 promulgated the Forfeiture of Assets (Release of Certain Forfeited Properties etc.) Amendment Decree No. 21 of 1996 deleting the name of Mr. Adeyemi-Bero and the properties in dispute from the schedule to the Decree.

The Decree, which amended Decree No.54 of 1993 has a retrospective commencement date of 6 June, 1995.

The state government then commenced a fresh action in suit No. M/249/97 to have the judgment granted to Mr. Adeyemi-Bero in suit No. M/415/95 set aside. The high court refused, but on appeal, the Court of Appeal set aside the judgment of the high court and returned the properties to the Lagos State Government.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the Court of Appeal, Mr. Adeyemi-Bero, through his counsel, Prof. A. B. Kasumu, SAN, appealed to the Supreme Court in SC. 179/05.

In a unanimous decision delivered on 7 December, 2012, the Supreme Court agreed with the submission of the Lagos State Government represented by the Solicitor General of the State, Lawal Pedro, SAN, that the properties were validly returned to the Lagos State Government by Decree 21 of 1996 and that the Court of Appeal’s judgment which set aside the judgment of the high court could not be faulted.

With the case determined in favour of Lagos state government, analysts wonder why the government still maintains its main auditorium at the secretariat in Alausa in the name of a man who grossly abused public trust while in office.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga