A Benin High Court has restrained the Edo State government and its agents from pulling down a hotel (T. Latifah hotel and Suites) belonging to a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Edo state, Tony Adun.
The Edo state government had, through the ministry of Urban Planning, issued a seven-day notice to Kabaka to remove the hotel, located at Ugbor, Benin, saying it was built on government land.
Justice D. I. Okungbowa, gave the restraining order in a suit no B/151/05/2019 filed by Tony Adun.
“An order of interim injunction restraining the defendants particularly the 1st defendant from carrying out and or demolishing, removing, pulling down or altering the claimant/applicant’s hotel buildings known as T. Latifah hotel and suites lying and situate at No1 Akin Oladiyun Street, behind Ugbor Primary School, Ugbor GRA, Benin, Edo State pending the determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”
“It seems to me that more justice will be served if the defendants are temporarily restrained from carrying out their threat of demolishing the structure than allowing them to demolish same pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction already filed,” the order said.
Meanwhile, Tony Adun (aka Kabaka), while addressing journalists on the notice, begged the state government to temper justice with mercy.
He said the property has a Certificate of Occupancy and that there was already a court injunction restraining the government from demolishing the building.
“You see, this is my deal of transfer that I used to buy the property. This is the signature, this is the Oba’s approval. It is not today, this is the signature of the Surveyor General of the state,” he said while showing the documents to journalists.
“The governor, even though I wronged him in anyway through politics or freedom of speech, I want him to please, have mercy.”
