A restraining injunction has been issued by a Kwara State High Court, preventing the Kwara State Government from carrying out any further demolition of late Olusola Saraki’s property.
The demolition of Ile Arugbo, which served as the political home of the late Kwara politician, caused varied reactions in recent days.
The judgement was delivered in Ilorin on Monday January 6, ordering the Kwara state government not to approach the land for any construction or activities until the Motion on Notice is determined.
Abdulazeez Ibrahim, one of the Saraki family’s lawyers, mentioned in an interview with The Nation that the court injunction was not served to the involved parties due to its late procurement at the close of work on Monday.
“It was true that we secured a court injunction against the state government, but it took place at the closing hours, so no enroll order was available for the concerned parties.”
The Kwara State Government also confirmed that it has not received the court order. The state’s Communication Commissioner, Murtala Olanrewaju, clarified the controversial demolition by stating that the demolished building was used for political gatherings and not as a home for elderly individuals.
He explained;
“Contrary to the claims by the opposition, the physical reclamation of the property by the government on 2 January 2020 was without any incident. Nobody was met on the property. It was never a place where people lived in, so the question of ejecting, maltreating or deploying violence against anyone did not arise. No court process has been served on the government.”
“The whole narrative about government demolishing old people’s home was a fabrication by the opposition to cover up for their lack of any document confirming their ownership of the property bordering the civil service clinic in Ilorin, the state capital.”
“The property is one of the over 100 government assets in GRA, Ilorin Kwara State, Victoria Island Lagos, Kaduna, and Abuja investigated by the Asset Recovery Committee led by Senator Suleiman Ajadi, which were unlawfully converted to private use. Until its physical reclamation, the property comprised only of sheds.”