Trespassing: FG to Pay NSE N100m Damages

Chioma Dike

The Lagos State High Court has ruled in favour of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) in a long-standing land dispute with the Federal Government, declaring NSE the rightful owner of a plot of land in Victoria Island and awarding N100 million in damages for trespass.

In the judgement delivered by Justice Ashade on June 26, 2025, the court confirmed that the NSE owns Plot PC 2A on Engineering Close, based on valid documents issued by the Lagos State Government and years of uninterrupted ownership and use of the land. The court rejected the Federal Government’s claim that the land belonged to King’s College.

The case began after officials from the Federal Ministry of Lands and Education, backed by security agents and thugs, took over the land in 2012, claiming that it was meant for a Mosque for King’s College. They destroyed the NSE’s perimeter fence and annexed the plot, despite NSE’s protests.

Justice Ashade ruled that the Federal Government failed to prove ownership, noting that they relied on photocopies of colonial documents that were not legally admissible. He added that, all Crown Lands in Lagos were transferred to the Lagos State Government when the State was created in 1967.

The court awarded N100 million in damages to NSE, N5 million in legal costs, and granted a perpetual injunction stopping any further trespass. The Lawyers who represented NSE in the case were Adedapo Tunde-Olowu, SAN, Linda Ezenyimulu, Temidayo Adewoye, and Oluwatosin Fajolu.