Skyview seeks police cover to resume construction on disputed Lekki land

Skyview Properties Limited has asked the police to provide protection for its representatives while it resumes construction on a disputed 1,631.32 square metre residential plot in Lekki, Lagos, saying it holds a High Court judgment recognising its interest in the land.

The request was made in a letter dated 21 October from the company's lawyers at C. O. Toyin Pinheiro & Co. to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, Lagos. Signed by Ifeoluwa Adebambo, the letter said Skyview intended to develop the property at Plot 37, Block 77, Lekki Peninsula Scheme I, and feared resistance or disturbance. It added that the company was prepared to provide the logistics for any police deployment.

The company relies on a judgment delivered by Justice K. A. Jose on 30 June 2025, which declared that Samuel Ajibode had transferred his interest in the land to Skyview and was no longer entitled to be treated as holder of the certificate of occupancy. The court restrained Ajibode, his agents and privies from trespassing or harassing the company's representatives, and awarded Skyview N10 million in general damages plus N2 million in costs. It found the transfer was evidenced by a deed of assignment registered as No. 37 at Page 37 in Volume 2491 of the Lagos State Lands Registry.

The judgment is being contested outside the courtroom. Businessman Akeem Ogunseye, who says he acquired an interest in the land from Ajibode, has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, the Police Service Commission and the National Assembly over an alleged demolition on the property. In a petition dated 27 October filed through his lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, he accused the AIG, Jimoh Moshood, and other officers of deploying armed personnel and heavy machinery in disobedience to court orders, and said the dispute is before the Court of Appeal in appeal number CA/LAG/CV/123/2025, which he says ordered the parties to maintain the status quo.

Premium Times reported that it could not independently verify the alleged Court of Appeal orders or establish the circumstances of the demolition, and that the police had not responded to the allegations at the time of filing. Skyview rejected the accusations as "frivolous", "cheap blackmail" and a "campaign of calumny", said Mr Moshood intervened only to keep the peace, and argued that neither Ajibode nor Ogunseye had obtained a stay of execution. At trial, the court weighed competing forensic reports on the signatures and accepted Skyview's account that a N500,000 payment to Ajibode was connected to executing the transfer documents, rejecting his claim that it was a deposit on a proposed N50 million sale.