The Nigeria Police Force has commenced steps to enforce a Lagos State High Court judgment arising from a long-running dispute over a 114.476-hectare property at Ogombo Village, Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State.
The development followed the adoption by Justice Olukayode Ogunjobi of the Lagos State High Court, Lands Division, of Terms of Settlement reached by parties involved in the dispute over interests in the estate of the late Iyalode Efunroye Tinubu and members of the Kosoko royal family.
By adopting the agreement, the court gave legal force to the settlement and the obligations agreed by the parties in relation to the disputed property.
The property, measuring 114.476 hectares, is covered by Survey Plan No. OGJ/5283/006/2023/LA, dated October 26, 2023.
A major component of the settlement is the payment of ₦1.5 billion as settlement and compensation, which was stipulated to be paid within 45 days of the judgment.
Following the judgment, the Nigeria Police Force began moves to facilitate its enforcement.
In a letter dated July 30, 2025, the Office of the Inspector-General of Police at Force Headquarters, Abuja, directed the Police Legal Services Directorate to act on a request seeking enforcement of the Lagos High Court ruling.
The letter, referenced CB:3594/IGP.SEC/ABJ/VOL.14/101, was titled: “Request for the Enforcement of the Ruling of the High Court of Lagos in the Ikeja Judicial Division in Suit No. 124/1912.”
The communication stated that a July 17, 2025 letter from Abdurahim Opoku Shaibu & Associates had been forwarded to the Director of Legal Services to convey the Inspector-General’s directive.
The letter was signed by DCP Lateef A. Ahmed, Ph.D., psc, Principal Staff Officer to the Inspector-General of Police.
The enforcement move marks a new phase in a land dispute whose history spans more than a century, with historical documents relating to the estate forming part of the competing claims to the property.
Among the records associated with the dispute is a 1912 survey plan prepared by the late Herbert Macaulay, which has featured in the historical tracing of the estate’s claim to the land.
An earlier Supreme Court judgment also forms part of the legal history surrounding the competing interests in the property.
The parties eventually resolved the dispute through negotiations, culminating in the Terms of Settlement subsequently adopted by Justice Ogunjobi as the judgment of the court.
With the settlement now incorporated into a court judgment, the parties are expected to comply with the obligations contained in the agreement.
The latest police directive therefore represents a shift from judicial resolution of the dispute to implementation and enforcement of the court-approved settlement.
At the centre of the enforcement process are the 114.476-hectare Ogombo property, the ₦1.5 billion settlement and compensation, and other obligations contained in the Terms of Settlement.
