Land owner fears for his life over legal tussles on his land

By Chibuike Osuji
Aderotimi Lateef Balogun, a Lagos based business man has alleged that since he bought a piece of land from a Lagos Lawyer and Estate Agent, Babatunde Olabode Johnson, Principle Partner, Johnson and Johnson Solicitors, his life has been a nightmare following litigation that followed the land purchase and subsequent threat to his life. According to Balogun, he has been trailed by unknown men since the he bought the land in 2012 without being informed that it is under litigation.
Trouble started in 2012 when Balogun purchased a piece of land situated at plot 278 Modupe Davis street, Lagos from Johnson at the cost of 92,000 British Pounds. No sooner has he purchased the said property than Modupe Davies, who claimed original ownership of the Land, surfaced to lay claim to the land. But indications are that the case had been on before Balogun made the purchase.Johnson had already won possession of the land and waited for the mandatory three months for appeal but since there was no appeal during the specified window period, he went ahead and sold the land to Balogun. Months later, Davies resurfaced with a claim to the land.
In the subsequent Court cases right up to the supreme Court where the case was struck out by a five Man panel headed by the Chief Justice of the Federation, Walter Onnoghen, they lost all appeals and resorted to intimidation and harassment of current owner of the land. Since then he has been dragged to various police stations in Lagos and even to the public complaint commission of the Nigerian Police, claiming he has been in possession of what belonged to Modupe Davis. “Eni (the Lawyer to Modupe Davies) instead of dealing with Johnson and Johnson who he ha case with, has resorted to taking me from place to place. I wonder if it is a ploy to frustrate and intimidate me out of my rightful property”, Balogun said. Incidentally, Johnson appears not to have done enough in the way of preventing the harassment on Balogun making him to lose man hours and during his time of being dragged about, according to Balogun, making him pass through emotional torture.
Now , according to him, Eni has resorted to intimidation.”I cannot move freely anymore. I now feel very unsafe. I am crying out so that the Police, government, Nigerians and other security agencies will take note.Unknown people have recently been trailing me. He even wrote a petition against me at the state Police Public Complaint Bureau, PCB. He then was trying to force me to sign a document I know nothing about, but I refused in the presence of PCB. He was advised by the PCB that I cannot be given a court order regarding the case. I cannot say what their next line of action will be”, he lamented.