An Ikeja High Court in Lagos has adjourned until June 13 the hearing in an application seeking to set aside a judgment delivered on October 18, 2023, concerning an Ikorodu land dispute.
The judgment awarded a large expanse of land known as Ita Ejirin at Igbodu Village to Mr. Jubril Hassan, Madam Silifat Hassan, and Madam Abimbola Hassan, who sued on behalf of the Tijani Hassan Descendants Family of Igbodu.
The claimants had sued in 2006 over trespass on the land, and the court, in its judgment on October 18, 2023, declared the land as belonging to the Tijani Hassan Descendants Family.
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The defendants, after filing processes, did not appear in court despite several hearing notices served on them. The claimants then prayed the court to enter judgment in their favor based on their motion papers, which the court granted.
However, before the claimants could enforce the judgment, the defendants brought a fresh application seeking to set aside the judgment, alleging fraud and failure to inform the court of the death of some parties during the pendency of the matter.
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The judgment creditors argued that there was no need for them to obtain any order of court for substituted service and that the court has become functus officio. They stated that the judgment debtors can only approach the Court of Appeal to test the authenticity of their claims.