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JUST IN: Court strikes out suit against Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road

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The Federal High Court in Lagos has declined jurisdiction in a suit challenging the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, striking out the case brought by residents and property owners in the Okun-Ajah community of Eti-Osa Local Government Area, Lagos State.

Justice Akintayo Aluko, in a consolidated ruling on multiple preliminary objections raised by the defendants, held that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

Consequently, the case, marked FHC/L/CS/1488/2024, was struck out.

However, the Judge directed that the suit be transferred to the Lagos State High Court, which he deemed the appropriate forum to adjudicate on the issues raised.

The Plaintiffs, Chief Saheed Olukosi (Akogun of Okun-Ajah Community), Noibi Issa Afolayan, Yussuf Odunuga Sulaiman, Olufemi Fasehun, and Adeola Tokunbo filed the suit on behalf of Okun-Ajah residents and affected property owners, seeking to halt the coastal road project over alleged encroachment on their lands.

They asked the court to nullify any construction or planning activity on their properties, alleging unlawful encroachment and trespass.

Among the reliefs sought were orders to invalidate the road designs affecting their land, to restrain the authorities and contractor from continuing construction on the disputed area, and to award damages for the alleged trespass.

The defendants named in the suit include the Honourable Minister of Works, Dr. Dave Umahi; Engineer Olukorede Keisha; the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing; Lagos State Attorney-General; the Lagos Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development; Surveyor-General of Lagos State; General Manager of the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority; General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency; and Hitech Construction Limited.

In response, the 1st to 3rd and 9th Defendants filed separate preliminary objections challenging the jurisdiction of the court.

Represented by Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Prof. J.O. Olatoke, SAN; Y.A.H. Ruba, SAN; Roy U. Nwaeze, SAN; and Ibukun Fasoro, they argued that the matter fell outside the purview of the Federal High Court.

The preliminary objections were supported by affidavits, to which the plaintiffs responded with a counter-affidavit.

In his ruling, Justice Aluko upheld the objections, stating that the legal questions raised and the reliefs sought were more appropriately handled by the Lagos State High Court. He ruled in favour of the Defendants, bringing proceedings at the Federal High Court to a close.

“Counsel to the Plaintiffs made an alternative submission in his written address, urging the court not to strike out this suit if the court finds that it lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate over the case.

“Counsel urged the court to transfer this suit to the State High Court, instead of striking out same.

“I agree with Counsel on this request, as this court possesses the needed power and jurisdiction to accede to such prayer.

“This court is fortified under Section 22(2) of the Federal High Court Act, which provides thus: ‘No cause or matter shall be struck out by the court merely on the ground that such cause or matter was taken in the court instead of the High Court of a State or of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in which it ought to have been brought, and the Judge of the court before whom such cause or matter is brought may cause such cause or matter to be transferred to the appropriate High Court of a State or at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in accordance with Rules of Court to be made under Section 44 of this Act.

“The Objections of the 1st-3rd and 9th Defendant/Objectors are therefore, sustained. This court has no jurisdiction to adjudicate over the subject-matter in this case.

“Pursuant to Section 22(2) of the Federal High Court Act, this suit is accordingly transferred to the Lagos State High Court as the appropriate court for adjudication”, Justice Aluko held.

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Humanitarian Services: NEMA distributes relief materials to victims of terrorist attacks in 2 Niger communities

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The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has distributed relief materials to victims of terrorist attacks in the Allawa and Bagna communities of the Shiroro Local Government Area in Niger State.

The distribution exercise was conducted at the Mutum Daya community in Shiroro local government area, in collaboration with the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, where community members were also sensitised on safety precautions in respect to the 2026 Seasonal Climate Prediction by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and the Annual Flood Outlook by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency.

Terrorists in April attacked Bagna, Erena, Yelwa and neighbouring communities, killing residents and vigilante members, burning houses and displacing several families forcing some of the community members to flee.

The Head of NEMA’s Minna Operations Office, Hussaini Isah, stated that the intervention aimed to provide humanitarian support and alleviate the hardship faced by vulnerable persons affected by the attacks.

Isah said the distribution was organised according to the affected communities to ensure fairness, transparency and orderly conduct.

  1. Abdullahi Baba-Arah. DG, Niger State Emergency Management Agency

Both the Village Head of Allawa, Ibrahim Salihu, and his Bagna counterpart, Bitrus Leo and some beneficiaries appreciated the Federal Government and NEMA for the timely intervention, saying the relief materials had restored hope to vulnerable households affected by the attacks.

Items distributed include 1,000 bags of 25 kg rice, 1,000 bags of 25 kg beans, 1,000 cartons of spaghetti, 100 cartons each of seasoning, vegetable oil, tomato paste and iodised salt.

NEMA also used the medium to advise residents to avoid farming, building houses and carrying out business activities along waterways and flood-prone areas due to the risk of severe and localised flooding predicted for 2026 by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and the Annual Flood Outlook by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency.

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HAPPENING NOW: Blackout hits Abuja, Embassies affected

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The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has announced power outage in various parts of Abuja including hotels and diplomatic buildings.

The AEDC made the announcement in its verified X handle today.

It said the blackout also affected Bolingo Hotel, Wada Maida Building, which houses the headquarters of Sudan, Egypt embassies, Envoy Hotel, the European Union embassy, among others.

The other places affected by the blackout are the National Planning Commission (NPC), the National Hospital, and the Turkish, Pakistani, and Indian embassies.

“Also, Garki Area One, Two, Three, Seven and Eight; Garki village; Garki market; Ubiaja Street; Kaltungo Street; and Lagos Street have been affected.

“Also affected are Oka Akoko Street, Treasury House, Karibu Hotel, and part of Asokoro, such as Yakubu Gowon Street.

“Similarly, Imo Government Lodges, Gado Nasko Street, Justice Sowemimo, Hassan Musa Katsina Streets, part of Jasse Martin, NIA, and TY Danjuma Street are without power supply.

“It said also affected are Lugbe, Jedo, Forte Royal, Back Of Dunamics, Customs Quarters, Aviation Village Piwoye Kapwa Ok Water, Nicomsat, Korean School and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport,”.

It attributed the power outage to a technical fault.

“The technical team of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is currently working to restore the power supply.

“We regret the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding,” AEDC said.

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Burial begins for Oyo school teacher killed by JAS terrorist group

The deceased teacher is expected to be buried at his residence in the Owolake area of Ogbomoso.

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The burial arrangements for Adesiyan Adegboye, the teacher killed during last Friday’s coordinated attack on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, began on Friday at Ayegun Baptist Church, Ogbomoso.

Adegboye, 49, was shot dead during the invasion carried out by armed bandits at Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School, and L.A. Primary School, Esiele.

The deceased teacher is expected to be buried at his residence in the Owolake area of Ogbomoso.

The attackers reportedly stormed the schools around 9:30am, abducting several teachers and students during the operation that threw the communities into panic.

Following the incident, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, visited the affected area on Saturday and ordered the deployment of additional detectives from the Force Headquarters in Abuja to support ongoing rescue efforts.

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