Court upholds Tejuosho property sale, directs deed signing

A Lagos State High Court sitting in Yaba has ordered the Onitiri family to sign the deed of assignment for a prime property located near Tejuosho market in Surulere, Lagos.

The court made the order following a judgment on the protracted dispute over the property, which was sold for N35m to a businessman, Chibuike Okeke, in the year 2014.

In a judgment delivered by Justice E.A. Ashade, the court declared the sale of the property valid and ordered the Onitiri family to sign the deed of assignment, which they had initially refused to sign.

The court’s decision upheld Okeke’s submissions, through his lawyer, Emelike Okorie, who countered the claimants’ argument that he had fulfilled all his obligations in the sales agreement.

The dispute began in 2015 when some members of the Onitiri family disputed the sale of the property, claiming that the transaction was not authorized by all the necessary parties.

The claimants, including Adeleye Omoloja, Adeniran Onitiri, Aderinsola Onitiri, and Adesiyan Apesin, dragged Okeke and Adekunbi, a member of the Onitiri family, to court.

The claimants sought an order of court nullifying the sale of the property and asked for N5 million in damages.

They also prayed the court to compel Okeke to account for the rent collected from the property since the purported sale in 2014.

However, Justice Ashade ruled that having jointly agreed to sell the property and having collected the purchase sum of N35m from Okeke, the claimants could no longer dispute the transaction.

The judge also awarded the sum of N3m, in costs against the claimants.

Before Justice Ashade’s judgment in the matter, the case had been heard and transferred to two other judges.