By Dr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani, SAN — Special to Legal Linkz
Ikeja, Lagos • 28 June 2025
A Lagos magistrate has quashed an audacious attempt by an alleged land‑grabbing syndicate to seize three plots of land from a UK‑based Nigerian widow, exposing once again how procedural loopholes are weaponised to dispossess lawful owners.
How the Plot Unfolded
Six years ago the syndicate—posing as an “extended Opebi family” with vast ancestral claims—secured a writ of possession from an Ikeja Magistrate Court through misrepresentation and forged filings.
Believing the widow to be deceased, the group moved heavy equipment onto the property behind the former Tasty Fried Chicken building on Opebi Road and began advertising each plot for tens of millions of naira.
“They sued themselves in two roles: as ‘owner’ and as an ‘adverse possessor’ who offered no defence. It was a textbook case of judicial fraud,” said Dr. Ubani, counsel to the widow.
Alerted by longstanding tenants, Ubani retrieved the client’s Certificate of Occupancy, filed for joinder, and tendered sworn affidavits proving continuous ownership.
The defendants could only produce a purported 1920s judgment that allegedly granted them land from Ikeja to Agege, but no survey plan or boundary map.
Court Strikes Back
The presiding magistrate—described by Ubani as “sharp, fearless and principled”—set aside the judgment and restored possession to the widow. Anticipating an appeal, Ubani recovered physical possession at 08:00 a.m. the same day; the syndicate’s stay‑of‑execution motion arrived an hour later.
When police petitions alleging trespass also failed, the Assistant Commissioner of Police at Zone 2 warned the group and their lawyer of criminal charges for presenting forged documents.
A Worrying Pattern
Ubani is now litigating a similar case in the Lagos High Court involving a Jos‑based owner whose family land—returned by government after the civil war—was seized using the same “unknown defendant” tactic.
“It is a growing racket,” he warned. “Notices of substituted service are pasted at 2 a.m., photographed, then removed—creating a false record of due process.”
Call for Procedural Reforms
The senior advocate urges an urgent amendment of civil procedure rules to curb abuse of “persons unknown” pleadings and to mandate locus‑in‑quo inspections whenever substituted service is claimed.
“Our courts remain formidable guardians of property rights, but only if practitioners act with diligence and judicial officers stay vigilant,” Ubani stressed.
Contact
Dr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani, SAN
Legal Practitioner & Public Affairs Analyst
ubangwa@gmail.com
