A Lagos property at the Lekki Peninsula Scheme has been sealed on the orders of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja, over allegations of a breach of fundamental rights.
The ex parte order was issued by Justice Othman Musa in a suit filed by Mr. Henry Ugonna Orabuchi against the Nigeria Police Force and others. The property, which accommodates several business outfits that have operated there for years, was shut down pursuant to the court directive.
The order arose from a fundamental rights enforcement suit marked FCT/HC/CV/4636/2025, in which the plaintiff alleged that his constitutional rights had been violated. He cited Sections 34, 35, 36, 37, 41 and 44 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as Articles 9 and 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Orabuchi told the court that he lawfully purchased 3,000 square metres of reclaimed land located behind Plot A, Block 12, Lekki Peninsula Scheme, from the landlord, Mr. Emecheta Elvis Eze.
He maintained that the land he acquired is distinct from the main premises currently occupied by various businesses.
The suit followed a police invitation extended to the plaintiff after a petition by Prof. Mike Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who is counsel to Eze.
The petition reportedly accused Orabuchi of criminal trespass, damage to property and threat to life. The plaintiff argued that the police invitation was aimed at coercing him into relinquishing his contractual and proprietary rights over the reclaimed land.
In the ex parte application filed by his counsel, Chikaosolu Ojukwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the plaintiff urged the court to intervene to protect his rights. Justice Musa subsequently granted an order on November 24, 2025, directing that the entire property, including the disputed 3,000 square metres of reclaimed land, be sealed and secured.
The court also ordered an immediate halt to all construction works and activities on the property, barring access to any person or authority pending the determination of the substantive suit.
However, on December 30, 2025, occupants of the premises were reportedly forced out and the property sealed by individuals who identified themselves as officials of the FCT High Court.
Business owners at the site said their premises were separate from the reclaimed land at the centre of the dispute, but their appeals were unsuccessful.
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