A claimant in land matter, Dr. Ojo Oluwatosin Ademola, has urged an Ikeja High Court of Lagos State, to restrain the law firm of Lagos State Attorney-General/Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro (SAN) & Associates from representing a company, Starmark Finance Company Limited, in an ongoing suit filed to prevent alleged land grabbers from taking over his land.
The claimant, Dr. Ademola, is praying the court to order the law firm of the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice “to withdraw its representation for the first defendant (the Company) in the suit on the ground of conflict of interest.”
The Claimant also praying the court to set “aside the order for change of counsel of the first defendant to the Law firm of Lawal Pedro (SAN) & Associates granted on the 18th February, 2025.”
Joined as defendants/respondents in the suit by Dr. Ojo Ademola are; Mr. Tunji Solaja and Engineer Peter Omotosho.
Already, the state high Court presided by Justice Akinkunmi Idowu has granted “an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants/respondents from trespassing, harassing, or going into the land or carrying out any activities whatsoever on the land, lying and situate at Plot 1, Block 4, Lekki Peninsula, Scheme 1, Admiralty Road, Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State measuring 1, 147.124 square metres vide Deed of Assignment registered as No. 69, page 69, in Volume 2741 of the Land Registry, Ikeja, Lagos State, pending the hearing and determination of the suit.”
The court also restrained the defendants/respondents “from using force, thugs, the Police and other agencies of the Government to harass, intimidate, break into the Claimant’s property” at Lekki Peninsula, Scheme 1, Admiralty Road, Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State.
In the Motion on Notice, the Claimant hinges his application on the ground that the “office of the Attorney General had earlier issued DPP advice against the party his private law firm Lawal Pedro (SAN) & Associates seeks to represent.”
The Claimant also claimed that the first defendant as represented by Lawal Pedro and Associates suppressed fact before the court that the Attorney-General is “the principal partner/founder of Lawal Pedro (SAN) & Associates who has issued a DPP’s advice criminally indicting the company and some individuals, recommending them form prosecution.
He therefore queried the legitimacy of the chambers owned by the attorney general to stand in the defence of those that he and his office has officially indicted of criminal offences and recommended for prosecution.
The Claimant submitted further that “the law firm of Lawal Pedro SAN and Associates cannot be engaged to represent the 1st Defendant in the suit as the Attorney General of Lagos State, Mr Pedro Lawal, SAN, has been personally involved in the protection of the interest of the Claimant.”
It added that, “not only was the order granted allowing change of counsel on 17th February, 2025 granted in error due to the suppression of fact by the first defendant/applicant, the order will amount to conflict of interest and this court being a temple of justice that will uphold the principles of equity, such order should be set aside.”
Meanwhile, the first defendant/respondent through the Lawal Pedro SAN & Associates in response to the earlier order granted by the court, has urged the court for an order “of interlocutory injunction to restrain the parties i.e. the claimant and defendants, their privies, servants, agents, workmen from going onto the parcel of land known and identified as plot 1, Block 4, Scheme 1, Lekki Peninsula in the Eti-Osa local government area of Lagos State pending the determination of the substantive suit by this court.”
They also prayed the court for an order for the preservation of the land subject of the suit between the Claimant and the Defendants until the final determination of the case.
