Iroju cries out over govt's move to demolish Alagbaka building
Former Deputy Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Hon Iroju Ogundeji who is challenging his impeachment and non payment of his accumulated salaries in court has raised the alarm over plans by the state government to demolish his house along Alagbaka .
The lawmaker was served a letter by the ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development that his property was blocking an access road.
Iroju in a letter through his lawyer, Olusola Oke, said his property does not block any access road.
He said the house was built on the limited space he bought with the proceeds of his sweat.
The letter reads, "Sir. notwithstanding the false issuance and service of the purported notices. our Client visited the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development to express his surprise at being served with the two notices mentioned above.
"Our Client also used the opportunity to comply with what your officials called regularization and all payments were made on his real property-not the one in the purported notices.
"Sir. notwithstanding the fact that our Client's building has an approved building plan and does not block any access road. Your officials came back claiming to have the instructions of your Government to demolish our Client's property.
"We have considered all relevant laws, statutes and conventions. We find none that empowers officials of the State to destroy any property of the citizenry.
Justification for such conducts is however only found in the history books of oppressive regimes. Yours is not such a Government. The records say so.
"Consequently, to prevent a situation where overzealous civil servants or anyone acting at their instance would take the laws into their hands and heap the unsolicited responsibility on your Government or unknown Soldiers, we have filed a suit at the Ondo State High Court of Justice Akure: Suit No:AK/42002!'
Iroju urged Governor Akeredolu to enjoin these overzealous agents of demolition to respect the rule of law and refrain from any further action
The letter added , 'Sir, we acknowledge that among Lawyers in Nigeria. yours is a place of honour: A Senior Advocate of Nigeria of many years standing; a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association and a renowned rights activist.
"Your regime therefore needs little persuasion on the admonition of the Supreme Court in the case of GOV. OFLAGOS STA TE V. OJUKWU (1986) I NWLR PT. 18 Page 621 @ Pg. 627, paras. A-C, where the Supreme Court held thus:
"In the area where rule of law operates, the rule self~help by force is abandoned. Nigeria being one of the countries in the world even in the third world which proclaim loudly to follow the rule of law, there is no room for the rule of self-help by force to operate.
"Once a dispute has arisen between a person and the government or authority and the dispute has been brought before the court, thereby invoking the judicial powers of the state, it is the duty of the government to allow the law to take its full course or allow the legal and judicial process to run its full course. "
