Saraki seeks police action against Kwara govt over disputed property

Lawyers representing Asa Investment Limited and the Saraki family have asked the Kwara State Commissioner of Police to call on the government of Kwara State to respect the court order restraining it from doing anything on the plots of land otherwise known as Ile-Arugbo, in Ilorin, said to be the property of the late Dr Abubakar Olusola Saraki.
This was contained in a petition written to the commissioner of police and signed by Barrister A. A. Ibraheem, a copy of which was sighted by TVN on Tuesday.
TVN recalls that a Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin, the state capital, had restrained the state government from commencing any construction works on the said plots of land pending the final determination of the case.
Justice A. O. Akinpelu gave the interim restraining order in a suit filed by Asa Investment, the Saraki family, and another person against Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Kwara State House of Assembly, Attorney-General of Kwara State, Director-General of Kwara State Bureau of Lands and Inspector-General of Police.
In addition to the interim order, the immediate past Kwara State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Salman Jawondo, signed an undertaking on behalf of the state government not to do anything on the land until the conclusion of the case.
However, the government last week ordered the clearing of the disputed land despite a subsisting court order prohibiting any action on the property.
This development prompted counsel for the claimants to petition the state commissioner of police to intervene and direct the state government to respect the court’s ruling.
According to the lawyers, agents of the state government were seen demolishing structures and buildings on the land while the suit is still pending and not yet determined or struck out by the court.
They argued that the government’s action constituted contempt of court and urged the police to take the necessary steps to ensure compliance with the law to avoid acts capable of causing a breakdown of law and order in Ilorin.
“Acts of lawlessness and breach of order of a competent court of law are least expected of an executive governor of a state who ought to be an enforcer of the law,” the counsel stated.
Saraki seeks police action against Kwara govt over disputed property