Hearing-impaired students drag Oyo govt to court over seizure of school property

The Registered Trustees of the Christian Mission for the Deaf, Ibadan, has dragged the Oyo State government to court over a 39-acre parcel of land they alleged the government has unlawfully dispossessed them of. The Mission is angry with the Oyo State government over the alleged seizure of the land, claiming it had bought the […]

The Registered Trustees of the Christian Mission for the Deaf, Ibadan, has dragged the Oyo State government to court over a 39-acre parcel of land they alleged the government has unlawfully dispossessed them of.

The Mission is angry with the Oyo State government over the alleged seizure of the land, claiming it had bought the expansive land with the objective of establishing a university for the deaf on it.

In a suit marked I/314/2019 brought before Justice O. M. Fadeyi of the Ring Road High Court 12, the trustees body is praying the court to compel Governor Abiola Ajimobi to stay whatever action on the land pending the determination of the motion for interlocutory injunction filed before the court.

The association joined the Ministry of Lands and Housing and the state Attorney-General and Justice Commissioner in the suit

Represented by Mr Niyi Eyinola, the trustees said the state government had since over a month been served with an interlocutory injunction dated March 23, 2019 for hearing that was fixed for yesterday.

Addressing the court, Eyinola said, “The interlocutory injunction and originating processes have been served upon all the respondents. Up till now, they are yet to file any process or defence to our application. We are ready to go on.”

But counsel to the Oyo State government, Mrs Omolara Adepoju, responded, “We are not prepared to go on because responses from other respondents just got to us yesterday and we have started preparing to file our statement of defence. We are praying the court to grant us a short adjournment to put in all necessary processes.”

Counsel to the trustees, however, opposed the oral application for adjournment, saying, “This application had been served on the respondents over a month ago. I was there on the land yesterday and work (by the Oyo State government) was still going on there. Government has continued to put structures on it as shown in the photographs I took there yesterday.

Justice Fadeyi adjourned the case till May 14, 2019 for further hearing.