An Ogun State High Court sitting in the Kobape area of Abeokuta has adjourned until October 19 and November 19, 2026, further hearing in a land ownership dispute involving an allottee of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and a holder of an Ogun State Government Certificate of Occupancy (C of O).
The case centres on a disputed parcel of land located at Quarter 192, Gbadebo Road, Ibara Government Reservation Area (GRA), Abeokuta, measuring about 6,174.090 square metres.
The claimant, Engr. Olatunji Sowunmi, is challenging the ownership of the property against Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Michael Fasanu, who holds an Ogun State-issued Certificate of Occupancy over the land.
In the suit marked AB/657/2025, Sowunmi, through his counsel, Chief Sina Sofola (SAN), is asking the court to declare that the property belongs to the Federal Government, having been part of its former staff quarters managed by the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development before its disposal in 2010.
Sowunmi also contends that he lawfully acquired the property from its original allottee, Tahirudeen Ogunmola, a retired officer of the Nigerian Prisons Service (now Nigerian Correctional Service), who allegedly purchased the property from the Federal Government under its housing disposal programme.
He is further seeking a declaration that Fasanu unlawfully trespassed on the land.
At Thursday’s resumed hearing, Sofola argued that the Ogun State Government ought not to have carved out any portion of the land or issued a Certificate of Occupancy to Fasanu if the property was indeed established to belong to the Federal Government.
Fasanu, who represented himself in court, opposed the claim, maintaining that an existing court judgment had already declared the land to belong to the Ogun State Government.
He argued that the land was never transferred from the colonial administration to the Federal Government and, therefore, the Certificate of Occupancy issued to him by the Ogun State Government remains valid.
During the proceedings, two witnesses called by the claimant testified in support of Sowunmi’s case.
The first witness, Tahirudeen Ogunmola, told the court that he purchased the property directly from the Federal Government, received a Certificate of Occupancy and payment receipts, and later transferred ownership to Sowunmi.
The second witness, Surveyor Amos Afolayan Akinseyin, former Chief Resident Surveyor at the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, identified Exhibit E as an official document originating from his office.
According to Akinseyin, the document confirms that the disputed property belongs to the Federal Government and forms part of colonial assets transferred to Nigeria after independence. He also testified that official records showed the property had been used as Federal Government staff quarters since 1963.
In her ruling, Justice B.B. Adewole overruled Fasanu’s objection to the admissibility of a Certified True Copy (CTC) of a letter from the Federal Prisons Department and admitted it in evidence as an exhibit.
The judge subsequently adjourned the matter to October 19 and November 19, 2026, for continuation of hearing.
