An Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo nullified a consent judgment and warrant of possession of 19.5 hectares that was earlier granted to a family belonging to the Osun State Government.

The court declared that the consent judgment and warrant of possession were obtained by fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment of a material fact.

It will be recalled that the Osun State Government had commenced its housing estate through Public-Private Partnership (PPP), for which Living Spring Estate undertook its development. Meanwhile, a family through one Prince Olalekan Salami challenged the Osun government, which is the original owner of the land, with a consent judgment and warrant of possession in 2022.

However, the Governor, Attorney-General and Commissioner of Land and Physical Development filed an application before Justice Oyeyemi Oyebiyi to nullify the purported consent judgment and warrant of possession which the family used to impede the development of the estate on the land.

Giving the ruling on Friday, Justice Oyebiyi granted the order to set aside the consent judgment and warrant of possession or writ of possession of November 14th 2022, in Suit No. HOS/92/2021 between Prince Olalekan Salami and the Governor of Osun State with two others, saying, “the judgment was obtained as a consent judgment by fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment of material facts.”

Speaking after the court session, the counsel to Osun State Government, Mr Philips Afolayan, said: “By implication of this ruling, Osun State Government is now the owner of the land and the plaintiff can’t go to the land.

The estate developer, Mr Oyinlola Oluwafeyijimi, said: “This ruling is a victory for the development of Osun State. This will encourage investors to tap into the Osun government housing agenda.” (The Nation)