The High Court of Justice, sitting in Kaduna, has issued an interlocutory injunction restraining all parties from further raising building, structures temporarily or permanently, mortgaging, renting or selling the disputed land located at National Eye Centre pending the ruling of the substantive matter before the court.
In his ruling, Justice D. S. Wyom, who sat at Court 5 of the Kaduna High Court, held that “in the spirit of justice and fairness to both parties, there shall be no building, structures temporarily or permanently, mortgaging, renting or selling the disputed land located at National Eye Centre pending the ruling of the substantive matter before the court. He, thereafter, adjourned the matter till May 21, 2018, to hear the amended motion by the plaintiff . Speaking after the ruling, the defence counsel for the Federal Ministry of Health, Barrister Emmanuel Ochum, said: “We are grateful today for this ruling. Once again, the court has spoken clearly.
What the court just said is that status quo should remain, so for now, the ruling is that there should be no activity whatsoever on the disputed land.” Also, commending on the ruling, the Director of Administration of the National Eye Centre, Malam Alhassan Ungo, said: “We had expected this long time ago. This ruling will stop the incessant trespassing you see every day on our land; building and blocking the road.
The ruling does not stop what we are doing as an institution. So, it’s a good one.” In his reaction, the plaintiff and the chairman, Mahuta community, Awal Zakari, said they take the ruling in good faitheven though they were expecting the court to stop the Centre. He argued that the same court had earlier granted them order to build on the Land. The National Eye Centre in 2011 dragged the community to court for trespassing and got judgement against them.
