Retiree sues YabaTech over alleged illegal demolition of property

An 80-year-old retiree, Mrs Vivian G. Osemwegie, has filed a lawsuit against Yaba College of Technology (YabaTech), its Governing Council, and the institution’s Rector, Dr. Olubunmi Owoso, over the alleged illegal demolition of her property.

The Federal High Court in Lagos received her suit, which also lists O.A. Olabode and Mrs Agbaje Williams as respondents.

Osemwegie, a former Chief Lecturer in YabaTech’s Department of Graphic Design, is represented by E.O. Etomi of FRA Williams Chambers. She seeks the court’s intervention to overturn a previous order dated August 30, 2024, issued by Justice Dipeolu in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/753/2003. The order granted the defendants the right to enforce a 2007 judgment and take possession of her property.

The motion, filed under Order 26, Rules (1)(3) of the court, requests an extension of time to challenge the enforcement orders. Mrs Osemwegie is specifically seeking an order to set aside the August 30, 2024, order that allowed police to facilitate the defendants’ possession of her property at Quarters 39, Aggrey Road, within the YabaTech premises; stay the execution of the February 2, 2007, judgment, which she claims contains no enforceable directive; investigate the alleged demolition of her property and address what she describes as a “non-existent judgment.”

In her application, Osemwegie argues that the defendants misled the court into issuing the August 30 order, enforcing a judgment with no specific enforceable mandate. She asserts that the Federal High Court lacks jurisdiction in the matter and that she was not notified about the enforcement application.

A hearing date has been set, and the defendants have yet to file their responses.

Separately, Osemwegie petitioned the Assistant Inspector-General of Police at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, Ikoyi-Lagos, requesting an investigation into the alleged demolition.

In her petition, titled “A Case of Fraudulent Interference with the Administration of Justice, Willful and Malicious Damage to Property, Breach of Public Peace, and Threat to Life and Property,” she claims that on October 2, 2024, gunmen and thugs forcibly evicted her from her residence, disposing of her belongings without explanation.