By Dele Moses, Ilorin
What was remaining of the partially demolished Ile-Arugbo building, the property of late Kwara State political icon, Senator Olusola Saraki, at the Ilofa Road, GRA Ilorin, has been completely demolished.
The demolition was reportedly carried out by agents of the state government at about 3 am on Wednesday.
It was done about 12 hours after a High Court of the state struck out a suit by the Saraki family challenging the government’s decision to reclaim the land on which the building was constructed.
Justice Abiodun Adewara had on Tuesday struck out the suit instituted about a year ago by Asa Investments Limited for want of diligent prosecution.
Asa investment, a firm to which the land was said to have been allocated is said to be owned by the Saraki family.
The government had reclaimed the land which it said was originally meant for a phase of the state secretariat on the ground that there was no evidence to prove that the land was allocated to the company.
It was gathered that the government agents came with a bulldozer to completely demolish the structure after it had been partially demolished January last year.
A resident of the Ilofa road who identified himself as Jamiu told newsmen that the bulldozer was moved to the site at about 3am on Wednesday.
“We watched it for about an hour and we saw some security men doing some surveillance till when the demolition lasted,” he narrated.
Rafiu Ajakaye, media aide to the state governor confirmed that the government returned to the site to complete the demolition of the structure saying that there was no law that stopped the government from taking possession of the land.
He stated: “The government has only reaffirmed its ownership of the land following the court ruling of yesterday. The government had since last year January taken possession of the land which belongs to the people of the state. The government only stayed action on it out of respect for the judicial proceedings instituted on the land, especially the temporary injunction of the court.
“Note however that the temporary injunction restraining the government from doing anything on the land had since last year, August 7, 2020 been lifted by the court.
“But out of absolute respect for the ongoing court case, the government chose to stay action, still. With yesterday’s court ruling striking out the case for want of diligent prosecution, the government has today restarted the clearing of the land”, Ajakaye said.
In his own reaction, head of the legal team of Asa Investments Limited, Dr Akin Onigbinde, SAN described the decision of the state government to go on with the demolition as reckless, illegal and glaring impunity.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Ilorin, Onigbinde said he was surprised that less than 24 hours after the court fixed March 17, 2021 for hearing of the counter claims filed by the Kwara State government, the government ordered bulldozers to go to the property between 2.25am and 4.20am on February 3, 2021, to further demolish structure and materials on it.
He stated: “Counsel to Government of Kwara State, on record of Court at previous sittings of Court had given undertaken, not to destroy the property until the dispute is determined.
“It was also surprising that on a single day, the Court granted an application to Asa to substitute the name of Alhaji Sanusi Baba-Eleku, a co-claimant with Asa Investment Ltd, who died recently with another, being Alhaji Abubakar Oluwatoyin, and before allowing the new party to file his witness statement on oath as required by law, the Court struck out the case of Asa Investment Ltd without allowing the new party the opportunity to even put forward his case to Court for adjudication, and Kwara State Government overreached judicial process to further destroy the property during the pendency of hearing.”
Onigbinde argued that it was wrong for a party to a suit to take action which seek to tie the hands of the court or overreach any decision of Court, or render nugatory subsequent decision of court.
He alleged that the state government by its action has violated the undertakings it made in open court in previous sittings not to interfere with the property.
He stated: “This action taken in the dead of the night will be challenged appropriately. We will not allow a government which should symbolise democracy and rule of law to be the one acting with impunity or seeking to subvert the course of justice.’