A Senior Advocate of Nigeria Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume has written the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to prevail on the Nigeria Police, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), and others to obey a Court order on Area 7 shopping complex in Abuja.
Some officers of the Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA), Abuja Investment Company Ltd, and a private company Urban Shelter Ltd under the protection of a detachment of police personnel demolished 235 stores of the shopping complex at odd midnight hours with goods estimated at N4Bn unaccounted for.
Ume said they carried out the illegality in the face of suit No FCT/HC/CV/2634/2021 against the Hon Minister of FCT and 6 ors including the private company and Nigeria Police and disdainfully disobeyed an order of the vacation judge that restrained them from further action on the complex.
The senior lawyer said that while the suit is pending, the private company and its directors have multiplied their efforts aimed at undermining the authority of the court by taking laws into their hands and “dragging our clients to the State Security Service and Nigeria Police.”
The company on the 4th of April,2023 ferried over 30 armed thugs dressed in fake police uniforms to the Area 7 shopping complex in the wee hours of the night with ulterior motives and illegally demolished the complex.
It is appalling that police have refused to enforce court orders, and instead took steps to disobey the same just to protect the unbridled, illegal and selfish interest of a private concern, he said.