The Supreme Court has ruled that a portion of the land currently occupied by the Federal College of Agriculture in Akure rightfully belongs to the Ogunmokun family, based in the Ondo State capital.
A certified copy of the judgment, delivered by Justices Uwani Aji, Ibrahim Saulawa, Emmanuel Agim, Chidiebere Nwaoma, and Abubakar Sadiq Umar, was obtained on Wednesday. The decision upholds the earlier ruling of the Court of Appeal, which had affirmed the Ogunmokun family’s claim to the land.
The legal dispute originated when the family filed a case at the Ondo State High Court in Akure, seeking legal recognition of their ownership. The respondents included the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the Federal College of Agriculture, the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, and the Attorney General of the Federation.
The High Court, under the leadership of Justice Adegboyega Adebusoye, ruled in favor of the family, granting them the right of occupancy. Dissatisfied with the verdict, the federal agencies appealed to the Court of Appeal, which also ruled against them, describing the appeal as lacking merit and imposing a N500,000 fine.
Still unsatisfied, the federal entities escalated the case to the Supreme Court. But in its ruling, delivered by Justice Aji, the apex court dismissed the appeal, declaring it incompetent. The court specifically struck out the notice of appeal submitted in April 2024, along with a related motion filed on August 4, 2035, for being procedurally defective.
Following the verdict, Michael Ajayi, the head of the Ogunmokun family, welcomed the decision and revealed that they had begun issuing eviction notices to individuals currently occupying the disputed land.
