Chief Busari Abatan Adeleye, a prominent community leader in Lagos, together with two relatives, has initiated a fundamental rights enforcement lawsuit seeking N50 million in damages against the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, and the Commissioner of Police for the Force Intelligence Department (FID), Lagos Annex, Akanniyene Ezima. The suit addresses claims of arrest-dispute-nwifuru-adc/” title=”Governor Nwifuru and ADC Clash Over Controversial … of Opposition Members in Ebonyi”>unlawful arrest, intimidation, and harassment.
As the Baale of Adeleye Opeki Community located in Abesan, Ipaja, Lagos, Chief Adeleye filed the case at the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja. His family members, Taiwo Adeleye and Akinola Akeem Adeleye, are co-plaintiffs, while Egonte Chukwuma Onyema is named as the third defendant.
The plaintiffs seek a judicial declaration that their detention and arrest on September 15 and 16, allegedly orchestrated by Onyema, violated their constitutional rights to freedom, dignity, and property as protected under Sections 35, 36, and 44 of the 1999 Constitution.
They contend that the arrest, which was based on accusations including trespassing, wrongful execution of judgment, and malicious damage, was unconstitutional. Furthermore, they argue that the police actions, purportedly influenced by Onyema, represent an abuse of authority and unlawful encroachment on their rights.
Alongside a request for injunctions to prevent further harassment or arrests, the plaintiffs are demanding N50 million in general damages and an additional N5 million in aggravated damages for the violation of their rights.
In a detailed 31-paragraph affidavit sworn by Taiwo Adeleye, the family asserts their status as the traditional owners of the Opeki Village land in Abesan, Lagos.
The affidavit references a Lagos State High Court ruling delivered on July 7, 2022, by Justice O.A. Taiwo in suit No: ID/1495/2010 (Alhaji Sule Ajibade & Ors v. Hajia Rauf Ajala & Ors), which reaffirmed their ownership claim.
Taiwo further stated that despite Onyema’s awareness of this judgment, he has persistently provoked the police to unlawfully interfere with their property rights and to forcibly reclaim the contested land.
The affidavit also highlights that the land dispute has been the subject of prior civil litigation involving the plaintiffs and Andrew Egonte, the father of the third defendant. Court documents, including summons and hearing notices, were properly served on Egonte as early as May 2011; however, his legal representatives failed to respond, resulting in a judgment favoring the plaintiffs.
To date, the defendants-I.G.P. Egbetokun, Commissioner Ezima, and Onyema-have not submitted any defense, and the court has yet to schedule a hearing date.
