Court orders Enugu govt to pay man N55m for illegal demolition of his shops

The Enugu State High Court has ordered the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority to pay a man, Chinedu Onyebuchi, N55 million for illegally demolishing his shops in the state.

Mr Onyebuchi, an architect, sued the development agency on 24 July 2015, about one year after the agency demolished his six shops.

Prayers

According to a court document obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Onyebuchi, had prayed the court to declare that the demolition of his shops by the development agency was unlawful, unconstitutional and unwarranted.

The plaintiff asked the court to declare that having obtained an approval for development plan of the space from the agency, he was entitled to build or erect the buildings without interference.

He also sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the agency and/or their agents from harassing or disturbing him on the building site.

Mr Onyebuchi prayed the court to order the agency to pay him N30 million as special damages for the demolition of the shops and basement and N50 million for general damages for the demolition.

Judgement

Delivering judgement on the matter on Wednesday, the judge, Kenneth Okpe, held that, “The defendant (the development agency) acted arbitrarily and very abysmally in demolishing the shops of the plaintiff without evidence of service of appropriate notice on him.”

Mr Okpe also ruled that the demolition of the plaintiff’s shops was unlawful, illegal, unconstitutional and unwarranted.

“I declare that the plaintiff having obtained an approval of his shops/office development plan from the defendant is entitled to build or erect the structure/building(s) approved by the defendant without any hindrance by or interference from the defendant and/or her agents.

“I make an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant and/or her agents from harassing or disturbing the plaintiff in his aforementioned building site, interfering with or hindering the construction of the plaintiff’s shops/office building the defendant having duly approved the proposed shops/office development plan,” he ruled.

Continuing, the judge declared: “I make an order directing the defendant to pay to the plaintiff the sum of N30 million only as special damages for the demolition of the plaintiff’s said six-shop building and the basement by the defendant.

“I make an order directing the defendant to pay to the plaintiff the sum of N25 million only as general damages for the demolition of the plaintiff’s building.”

Reacting, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Christian Odoh, told reporters that his client decided to seek redress in court after the development agency went ahead to demolish his clients property in 2014 after the same agency issued all the necessary approvals for the structure.

“It was surprising that the same agency came and demolished the building on the grounds that my client did not obtain approval.

“So we decided to come to court to seek remedy. I am happy that all the reliefs that we sought were granted,” Mr Odoh said.

10-year-old legal battle

The plaintiff, Mr Onyebuchi, was full of joy after the judgement.

“I feel so excited that I lack words to express my feelings. This is about ten years of legal battle, so I give God all the glory,” he said.

“I thank God for the outcome. Some of my friends had advised me to abandon the case but truly this shows that the courts remain the last hope of the common man.”

As of the time of filing this report, it was unclear if the agency would appeal the judgement.