Court Restrains Kaduna State Govt from Any Action against Hunkuyi’s Residence

John Shiklam in Kaduna

A  Kaduna State High Court on Monday restrained the  Kaduna State  government and the Kaduna Geographic Information Service (KADGIS)  from taking any action in respect to the Kaduna residence of Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi.

KADGIS had recently slammed Hunkuyi with  a N31.4million fine for allegedly not paying ground rent for 24 years on his residence located at No. 18A,  Inuwa Wada Road, Ungwan Rimi, Kaduna.

According to KADGIS, the fine included an accumulated ground rent of 24 years.
The service had given Hunkuyi who represents Kaduna North Senatorial zone in the senate, 30 days within which to pay the bill.
However, Hunkuyi, through his counsel, Prof. Yusuf Dankofa had approached the court,  presided over by Justice G.  I. Kurada for an order restraining the state government,  KADGIS and their agents from taking any action in respect to the house.

Dankofa had maintained that the purported bill was  concocted by the defendants without any gazette or laws.
The court ordered the defendants  and their  agents against taking  any step or acting on the purported bill issued against Hunkuyi in respect to the  payment of the ground rent on the  property in question, pending the determination of a motion on notice.

The case was  adjourned to March 21, 2018 for the hearing on motion  on notice.
Hunkuyi belongs to  one of the factions of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna that  is opposed to the leadership style of Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

El-Rufai had earlier ordered for the demolition of the secretariat of the Hunkuyi faction located at No. 11A, Sambo Road, Kaduna and revoked the certificate of occupancy of the property owned by the senator.

KADGIS had justified the demolition, maintaining that the location of a party office in the area was a violation of land use laws, adding that ground rent had not been paid on the property for the past 10 years.
The property was  re-allocated to the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Agency (KASUPDA ) to construct a garden.

Related Articles