The National Industrial Court in Lagos on Thursday admitted as exhibits bulk documents pleaded by occupants of the Nigeria Customs Quarters at Gowon Estate near Ipaja as the court began hearing in the suit filed the occupants against Customs
More than 192 residents of the estate had jointly instituted the suit against the defendants –the Nigeria Customs Service.
Joined in the suit is the Presidential Implementation Committee on Federal Government’s Landed Property.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Thursday, Mr Joseph Igwe, announced appearance for the claimants (the occupants) and called on his first witness, Mr Augustine Umeadi, who introduced himself as a retired public servant, who served in the Customs as an inspector.
Counsel to the claimant then informed the court of bulk documents containing the statement on oath of the claimants, as well as supporting documents.
The documents include forms for allocation of government quarters, letters of appointment, retirement letters, bank drafts, expression of interest on property, as well as affidavits.
He consequently adopted the statements and documents as the case for the claimants, and urged the court to admit the documents in evidence.
In a short ruling, Justice B.B. Kanyip, admitted the documents as exhibits and granted the prayers of the claimants.
“The claimants’ front-loaded documents are admitted and marked as exhibits.”
The judge, however, added that any party could thereafter object to the documents.
He then fixed June 8 for the adoption of written addresses, and ordered hearing notices to be served on the defendants.
The claimants are contesting what they termed clandestine moves by an “influential Nigerian’’ to get the Committee to eject them and acquire the blocks of flats built some 40 years ago.
The retired and serving customs officers had expressed interests to buy the flats as sitting tenants in March 2012 and paid N10, 000 each for the expression of interest form after which a verification exercise was carried out.
The Federal Government had in 2004 advertised the sale of its residential properties across the country including that of Lagos, and asked sitting tenants to bid first.
The former Comptroller-General of Customs, Abdulahi Diko Inde, had on Dec. 23, 2015 directed the Lagos Zonal Office of Customs to eject the officers both serving and retired by Dec. 31, 2015.
The said ejection notice was conveyed via a circular NCS/ENF/ABJ/113/S.174 entitled: “Administration and Harmonization of Quarters/Barracks Allocation” and signed by Ag. Deputy Comptroller-General, Dan Ugo.
The residents averred that the move is a contravention of Federal Government’s policy under the President Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration which ordered the selling off of staff quarters across the country.
The residents, among other reliefs, want the court to direct the committee to issue letters of allocation to them and stop the Customs from making moves to re-acquire the quarters already relinquished by the government.
Federal agencies in the estate that have benefited from the sale of such houses include the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Police, Federal Housing Authority, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Others are the staff of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the defunct Nigerian Airways and the defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line.
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