Court orders physical measurement of bank building in Braithwaite’s N10b suit

Justice Doris Okuwobi of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has ordered President of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) to undertake physical measurement of the controversial structure erected by the Standard Chartered Bank in Victoria Island, Lagos.

Elder statesman, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, had sued the bank, claiming that the 14-storey building with multi-level car park built opposite his residence is illegal and harzardous to him.
Apart from asking for N10billion compensation, the claimant is also praying the court to order demolition of the structure, built in an otherwise residential area, on account that the building permit used by the respondent was not genuine.

As a result, the court yesterday ordered physical measurement of the structure in other to ascertain its environmental impact to residents of the area, and particularly the claimant.

The court also ordered the NITP president to prepare a comprehensive report of his findings. The presiding judge made the order among others yesterday after listening to counsel in the suit.
At the resumed hearing of the matter, the claimant, Braithwaite, who is representing himself, informed the court of his application dated October 6, 2015 and urged the court to grant the order, noting that the case has been ongoing since 2010.

The application was for an order of court “directing the president of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners to enter the defendant’s commercial building of 14 floors comprising a 5 level car park at no. 142 Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos, the subject-matter of this suit, in the presence of the parties herein and/or their counsel, to undertake physical measurement of the setback and airspace of the said defendant’s building.”

The claimant also prayed for an order of court directing the President of NITP to prepare a comprehensive report of his findings and measurements, which shall be produced to the court as part of the evidence on record of the trial, among other prayers.
The defendant’s counsel, Adiniyi Adegbonmire (SAN), did not oppose the application. He rather prayed the court to make consequential order that both parties be at liberty to call whoever made the measurement to be available for cross examination.

Once we agree on the date of the measurement, my client is ready to grant the person entry to the premises”, he said.
Justice Okuwobi consequently granted the order as the claimant prayed and subsequently adjourned further hearing till November, 24, 2015.

In July, ‘expert witness’ for the defendant, Mr. Olugbenga Akinmoladun, had told the court that he made an error in the date he fixed in his expert report regarding when the bank obtained its development permit. The witness, who was under cross-examination by Braithwaite, said it was a typographical error. But the claimant insisted that it was a deliberate falsehood intended to mislead the court.

I put it to you that you are in error when you said there was approved building permit. The error is a deliberate falsehood to mislead this court”, Braithwaite declared.
The development permit, designated as Exhibit D5, was dated June 2, 2010. But the witness wrote in his report that the permit was dated September 9, 2009.

The witness denied Braithwaite’s claim that the structure did not have a membrane protective net, saying he saw protective net at the 14th floor when he got to the site. He also denied that the airspace fall short of the requirements of Lagos State building regulations.

Interestingly, Akinmoladun had claimed in his report that he physically measured the distance between the construction site and the claimant’s residence, adding that it is “about the size of a standard plot of land.”
But when asked the reason he speculated and could not put the exact figure, if indeed he measured it, he said he never considered it as the bone of contention.

Akinmoladun, who also told the court that he is a senior lecturer ‎in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and also a registered town planner with more than 25 years experience, said he has no doctorate degree in his field of study.