Nasarawa Court Hears Woman's Bid to Recover Flat From Late Son's Widow
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A Chief Magistrates' Court in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, has begun hearing a suit in which Madam Grace Okpalanweze seeks to recover a two-bedroom flat from her daughter-in-law.
A woman, Madam Grace Okpalanweze, has approached a Chief Magistrates' Court in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, seeking an order that her daughter-in-law, Uzoamaka, vacate a two-bedroom flat in Mararaba.
Grace told the court that she built the flat from the proceeds of her business, which her late son, Ifeanyi, managed before his death in August 2022. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), she said the defendant was married to her late son and had been living in the premises since his death.
"I accommodated the defendant after my son's funeral to enable her mourn her husband and recover from the loss. I never asked her to pay rent in the four years she lived in the premises," she told the court. She said she now needs the house for her personal use because she no longer has any means of livelihood apart from the rent she gets from other tenants.
Grace said she had repeatedly appealed to the defendant to vacate the premises but she refused, and that she served a seven-day notice of the owner's intention to recover possession. She asked the court to order the defendant to settle an outstanding electricity bill, return the prepaid electricity meter card and leave the apartment in a habitable condition, and she also sought N500,000 as the cost of instituting the action and engaging counsel.
In her response, Uzoamaka told the court that she and her late husband jointly built the house, and that she was not informed by her husband that his mother owned the business in question.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Joy Faruk, adjourned the case for continuation of the defence.