Property demolition: Next Foods clarifies ownership, insists Lagos Gov granted consent in 2013

Next Foods Limited, a company owned by Ndibe Obi, younger brother of Presidential Candidate of Labour Party in 2023, Mr Peter Obi has clarified the ownership of its property demolished on Tuesday in Ikeja, Lagos.

The company’s Lawyer, Mr Emeka Okpoko SAN, who spoke with journalists in Awka on Thursday said the story around the claim of ownership by one Deborah Oluwalogbon is inconsistent, saying that the company will challenge the action in court.

He said: “The land is owned by Next Food Limited and Peter Obi’s younger brother, Ndibe is a majority shareholder in the company.

“The property was purchased in 2011 and there is a deed of agreement to this, and the consent of the governor of Lagos State was granted in 2013. If you look at the deed of assignment that was issued, you will see that it chronicles the history of the land, right from Western Nigeria, when land registry was at Ibadan, up to when the last people sold it.

“Those were the people whose predecessor died, leaving no will, then they did a letter, regularized and registered same. You will see that the deed of assignment traced the history entirely and the title was registered.”

Speaking of the recent demolition, Okpoko said: “Last week, I was called upon that some people came to levy execution. I spoke to the security man and got the paper they brought. I found that the case was between Deborah Oluwalogbon and persons unknown. These are technical legal issues that will be fought in the open court..

“We went to the origin and traced the document and we were able to see the suit number and through it we went to the registry to unravel what happened. We traced the matter to a particular court and got the certified true copies filed in the matter and we discovered that she commenced an originating summons suit, seeking for possession of the property and not title.

“We also saw that there was a motion for substituted service, but you can’t serve a company by substituted services and these are matters we will challenge in court. I saw evidence of service, but my thinking tells me that because the property is located on a corner piece, they pasted on a part that isn’t so conspicuous, took pictures and maybe removed it. I suspect that they served the other processes same way and were able to get judgement.”

He wondered why for a matter in which they got judgement in 2024 they waited until 2025 to levy execution, when there were supposed to do so within six months.

He lamented that there are inconsistencies in the matter. “We saw all that. We have read everything and we have filed filed our own processes to show that truly we are the owners of the property. Nobody served us, all through the pendency of the matter, we never knew and all we saw was the demolition. These are matters that the court will be pontificating upon, and I’m convinced that by the time the court listens to our own side of the story, I see no reason why we will not be successful.

“This was a suit that was filed in 2023 and got judgement in 2024, and now in 2025 they came for execution. I have also seen that they have flashed a Certificate of Occupancy gotten in 2025, which means they filed a judgement before getting C of O.

“I can also tell you that what they used to file the suit was a federal C of O, obtained from the Federal Ministry of Works, Ikoyi Lagos, in 2021. Whereas we already had the consent of the governor for that property in 2013.

“So, if we had our own in 2013, can you thereafter go and get your own. We also want to state that a C of O cannot change any transaction that have illegality or invalidity under it. With regards to land, you must go back to roots, if the root of title in tainted with invalidity, or illegality, or irregularity, a C of O obtained whichever way will not regularized the position.”

He said the matter is already in court, and that his client is seeking an order to be joined as a party, also for the processes to be amended to incorporate the name of the client, also an application seeking to set aside the previous judgement, a leg of it that seeks to stay further execution, another leg seeking an injunction pending the hearing of the substantive matter and others.