Court Refers Property Dispute to ADR as Bianca Ojukwu and Sons Absence Noted

Justice Adedayo Oyebanji of the Lagos High Court, sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), has referred a case filed by Ojukwu Transport Limited (OTL) to the Multi-Door Court House. The case involves an alleged N12 million rent owed to OTL by West African Offshore Limited for a 13-year period. OTL claims that West African Offshore Limited’s lease expired in 2012, and since then, the company has not paid any rent. During a court session on March 10, Justice Oyebanji addressed all outstanding applications.

However, the judge referred the matter regarding West African Offshore Limited (represented by Uche Obilor) to the Multi-Door Court House, highlighting that their lease expired in 2012, and no rent had been paid since. In this case, Maple Petrochemicals, owned by Kwara State Governor Abdurahman Abdulrazaq, also a party in the dispute, filed a motion seeking to prevent OTL from enforcing a 2022 warrant on its property at 14 Probyn Road, Ikoyi, which was executed following a 2018 judgment.

Afamefuna and Nwachukwu Ojukwu, represented by their friend Bianca Ojukwu, had previously filed a request to withdraw their application to join the case. Neither they nor their lawyers were present in court. However, Dr. P Ike Ojukwu, the director of OTL, along with the company’s counsel, Ifeanyi Okumah, and estate agents Massey Udegbe, were present at the hearing.

In a separate case where Bianca Ojukwu and her sons filed contempt proceedings (Form 49) against the Ojukwus/OTL and some tenants, the trial judge, Justice A.M. Lawal, granted an adjournment following the plaintiffs’ lawyer’s request for additional time to respond to certain applications. The case, with reference number LD/1539/2012, in which a judgment was delivered in 2022, saw Bianca suing OTL on behalf of her minor children at the time. The matter was adjourned until June 16.