A Kano State high court has awarded damages of N8,511,000,000 to Lamash Properties Limited against the Kano State Government, following the demolition of its buildings by state governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
The court also ordered the defendants, including the Kano State Government, Governor Abba Kabir, and the State Attorney General, to pay an additional N10,000,000 to cover the cost of filing the case.
The demolitions, which took place on the governor’s orders in June 2023, were contested in a lawsuit filed by Lamash Properties, which argued that the actions taken by the governor were unjustified.
In an originating summons submitted to the Kano State high court, presided over by Justice Sunusi Ma’aji, the plaintiff asserted that it had legally acquired the property through an agreement with the state government during Governor Abdullahi Ganduje’s administration.
Lamash, represented by its counsel Nureini Jimoh, SAN, sought a declaration affirming that the agreement signed with the Kano State Government for the development of the site for profitable purposes was valid, subsisting, and enforceable at the time Governor Yusuf ordered the demolition.
The defendants, represented by Ibrahim Wangida and Bashir Muhammad, had filed a Memorandum of Conditional Appearance in the case, according to court records.
In his judgement delivered on Wednesday, Justice Ma’aji granted the plaintiff’s requests, confirming that the agreement was enforceable. He condemned the demolition and ordered that, since the buildings could not be restored, the defendants must pay the plaintiff their current monetary value.
In response, Wangida stated that he had submitted more than just a Memorandum of Conditional Appearance.
“We filed a preliminary objection and a date was scheduled for us to present our motion, but the judge did not sit on that date.
“When the court set another date, we did not receive a Hearing Notice. It was not served to me or to Bashir Muhammad at our respective offices. They claim it was served on Abdulkarim Maude at No 63, Lamido Road.
“Firstly, Maude has never been part of this case, and secondly, he indicated he was unaware of any service at his office, which is quite unusual.”
Wangida pointed out that their lack of receipt of the Hearing Notice meant they were unaware of the proceedings and therefore absent from court.
He explained that the plaintiff applied for the dismissal of their preliminary objection, which the court granted, allowing them to present their own motion.
“And today, we came to court to request that the previous sitting be set aside, but the judge insisted he was there to deliver his judgement.”
He mentioned that they have already filed a motion asking the court to overturn the judgement.
Daily Trust reported that in September 2023, a Federal High Court sitting in Kano imposed N30 billion in damages on the government for the demolition of structures at Kofar Mata Eid Ground.
This ruling followed a demolition operation conducted on Saturday, June 3, 2023, just days after the Governor was sworn in, during which he personally led a team to dismantle structures deemed to be illegally erected on government land.
While some praised his efforts to ‘sanitise the system’, others condemned the move.
