Badan Enterprises Ltd, the owner of 500 acres of land, has filed a lawsuit against Dangote Sugar Company, the Nasarawa State government, and the Awe Local Government Area over the non-payment of compensation for land ceded to the sugar company.
The legal dispute, filed at the Nasarawa State High Court, challenges the failure of the Nasarawa State Government and Awe Local Government Area to compensate Badan Enterprises for its land, which has been under the Certificate of Occupancy since 1986.
The suit, No. LSD/LA26/2019, accuses the state government and local authority of violating proper procedures in the acquisition and transfer of the land title to Dangote Sugar Company without fulfilling their compensation obligations.
Badan Enterprises claims all attempts to settle the issue with Dangote Sugar Company were thwarted by land racketeers, who allegedly took money from the company intended for compensation but diverted it for personal gain. The company is now asking the court to order the full payment of compensation for the 500 acres of land ceded to Dangote Sugar over the past six years.
The plaintiff further disputes the lack of documentation specifying the exact number of hectares allocated to Dangote Sugar, highlighting that the acquisition was for private use rather than a public purpose. The company has expressed concerns about the involvement of the Awe Development Association in determining compensation and has written to the state’s Attorney General and the Secretary to the State Government, seeking acknowledgment of the land title documents and payment. However, the requests have gone unanswered.
Badan Enterprises is now seeking a legal resolution to the matter and urging the court to compel the relevant parties to pay compensation for the land acquisition.
