Council Of Legal Education & Ors V. Hairat Aderinsola Balogun & Ors (2011)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

HUSSEIN MUKHTAR, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

The two appeals herein number CA/L/375/2010 and number CA/L/375A/2010 (hereinafter referred to as “appeal 1” and “appeal 2” respectively) emanate from the same proceedings between the same parties following and against each of the two respective rulings delivered by the High Court of Lagos State on the 14th December 2009 and 15th March 2010.

The appeal 1 as stated above is against the ruling of the High Court of Lagos State (the court below) delivered by Oke, J on the 14th December 2009. The 1st appellant is a beneficiary of a large expanse of land in Victoria Island Lagos on part of which the Nigerian Law School and the Secretariat of the Nigerian Bar Association were built, while the remaining portion of the land is virgin. In 2008 the 1st and 2nd appellants sublet part of the undeveloped portion of the land to the 3rd appellant by an agreement dated 21st April 2008 for a period of 50 years to develop a 24 storey office building with uninterrupted power supply, bore hole, water treatment plant and car park.

The first respondent herein who was the claimant at the court below challenged the validity and legality of the said sublease asserting, inter alia, that the land was granted to the Council of Legal Education for Institutional purpose only and not for commercial purposes, and that the certificate of occupancy was granted under special terms and conditions as stated therein, which do not allow a commercial sublease and the construction of a 24 storey building on any portion of the land and is against the Town Planning Law of Lagos State.

The first respondent’s action at the court below against the appellants as the defendants was for the following reliefs

“(i) A declaration that all that land owned and belonging to the Council of Legal Education (Nigerian Law School) and situate at Adeola Hopewell, Ozumba Mbadiwe and Ademola Alakija Street, Victoria Island, Lagos were granted to the Council of Legal Education for educational purposes only and in particular for the development of infrastructure for the Nigerian Law School.

(ii) A declaration that the 3rd defendant has no statutory power to cede, assign, sub-lease and or alienate any or all assets, landed properties of the Council of Legal Education and/or of the Nigerian Law School.

(iii) A declaration that the council of Legal Education, may cede, assign, sub let and/or alienate any or all assets of the Council of Legal Education and/or Nigerian Law School and such alienation howsoever described must conform with the purposes for which the said property was acquired and for the general statutory powers which is the promotion of Legal Education in Nigeria.

(iv) An order of this Honourable Court, declaring null and void and of no effect whatsoever or any contract, agreement, joint venture or any form Of alienation of the landed property/properties of the Council of Legal Education and/or the Nigerian Law School, purportedly alienating any landed property/properties of the Council of Legal Education and/or the Nigerian Law School which alienation is contrary to the use stated on the grant from the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria through the Minister of Environment, Housing and Urban Development.

(v) An order of this Honourable court declaring as null and void, the contract of agreement and in particular the deed of sub-lease dated 21st April 2008 purporting to alienate in some form the landed property of the Council of Legal Education and/or the Nigerian Law School, lying and situate at Ozumba Mbadiwe, Adeola Hopewell and Adeyemo Alakija Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, the said alientation being contrary to the stated use for which the property was originally granted to the Council of Legal Education and/or the Nigerian Law School.

(vi) An order directing the Lagos State Government to refuse to grant building approval and/or any other form of development approval to the defendants herein to build the proposed 24 storey Crown Towers on any land belonging to the Council of Legal Education and/or the Nigerian Law School, save if the said 24 story crown towers is designed for use and meant for educational purposes of the Nigerian Law School.

(vii) An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, jointly and severally from developing on all or any land belonging to the Council of Legal Education and/or Nigerian Law School in Lagos State if such development is not for educational purposes and for the furtherance of Legal Education in Nigeria.”

The claimant/1st respondent followed up her writ of summons and statement of claim applications for ex-parte and interlocutory injunctions seeking to restrain the appellants as defendants from granting any sublease or giving effect to any sublease agreement.

Upon being served with the originating processes, the appellants responded by challenging the competence of the 1st respondent’s suit before the trial court. In its ruling delivered on the 14th December 2009, against which the appeal 1 herein is lodged, the court below dismissed the preliminary objection and held that the subject matter being land in Lagos is within its jurisdiction. The appellants were aggrieved by that pronouncement and appealed against it by their notice of appeal in appeal 1 dated 22nd March 2010 and filed on the 24th March 2010 with leave of this court granted on the same day, premised on four grounds as reproduced, less their particulars, thus: