Businessman Sues Bank For Breach Of Deed Of Property Lease
A Lagos High Court, sitting in Badagry Judicial Division, has fixed 25 January, 2017, for further direction in the hearing of trial of an alleged claim of fraud committed by new generation Bank against a Lagos businessman and Chairman, L.I. Ayomumoye Nigeria Limited, Alhaji Lasisi Ishola Ayomumoye.
The claimant, Alhaji Ayomumoye, through his counsel, RouQ and Company, is claiming N36,850,000 as cost of demolition of present structure and erecting thereon the original structure, which was demolished by the Bank without consent or authorisation of the owner/claimant.
In the alternative, the businessman is demanding N24,000,000, being cost of restructuring the present building to a multi-purpose building, similar to that of the claimant.
In a statement of claim filed by his counsel, the claimant said a deed of sublease, which commenced from 1st October 2006, was breached by the Bank on his building situated at Plot 15, Aina Layout, Lagos Abeokuta Road, Dopemu, Lagos State.
According to Alhaji Ayomumoye, the Bank, contrary to the deed of sub-lease, wholly demolished the property and erected a new structure, which is a single-purpose design of the bank, without the claimant’s consent or approval.
Upon the discovery of the breach, the claimant wrote several letters to the bank, notifying it of the breach of covenant of the deed of sub-lease and requesting for compensation, which the bank ignored.
The claimant said the bank, in 2008, surreptitiously registered a forged deed of sub-lease, purporting same to be the one executed by him, adding that the document fraudulently registered by the bank on the property was fundamentally different from that which was executed by both parties in 2006.
At the resumed hearing of the matter on Tuesday, counsel to the claimant, Mr. Akinpelu Salawu, said that the consequential amendment of statement of claims by the defendants was filed only on Monday, 5 December, 2016 and that they needed time to study it for necessary response.
The bank was not represented by any counsel at the sitting, and Justice Okikiolu Ighile, subsequently adjourned the case to 25 January, 2017.
