Osun High Court nullifies consent judgment over 19.5 hectares of state land
…ruling will bring development, win investors—Osun govt land developer An Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo has set aside a consent judgment and warrant of possession covering 19.5 hectares
…ruling will bring development, win investors—Osun govt land developer
An Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo has set aside a consent judgment and warrant of possession covering 19.5 hectares of land previously granted to a family in a dispute with the Osun state government.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, Justice Oyeyemi Oyebiyi held that the consent judgment and writ of possession dated November 14, 2022, in Suit No. HOS/92/2021 between Prince Olalekan Salami and the Governor of Osun State, with two others, was obtained through fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment of material facts.
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The dispute arose after the Osun State Government initiated a housing estate project under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement, with Living Spring Estate handling the development.
A family, represented by Prince Olalekan Salami, had relied on the earlier consent judgment and warrant of possession to challenge the state’s ownership and stall development on the land.
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Subsequently, the Osun State Governor, alongside the Attorney-General and the Commissioner for Lands and Physical Development, approached the court seeking to nullify the consent judgment and the associated warrant of possession.
Granting the application, Justice Oyebiyi declared the earlier judgment invalid, effectively restoring the state’s claim over the land.
Speaking after the ruling, counsel to the Osun State Government, Mr. Philips Afolayan, said the implication of the judgment is that the state retains ownership of the land and that the claimant can no longer assert possessory rights over it.
Also reacting, the estate developer, Mr. Oyinlola Oluwafeyijimi, described the ruling as a boost to the state’s housing initiative, expressing optimism that it would enhance investor confidence in Osun’s real estate development programme.
