Bayelsa Dragged to Court over 14-day Demolition Order

A property company, Bliss Multinational Perfections Company Limited, has dragged the Bayelsa State Government and the State Physical Planning and Development Board to court over the 14-day ultimatum handed them to demolish their multimillion naira property.

Also included as second respondent in the suit with the number: YHC/187/2021, is the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Biriyai Dambo.

The company is the owner of the structure housing the headquarters of the embattled Baraza Multipurpose Cooperative Society who was recently involved in controversial failed repayment plan for members and investors in the Society.

The company in its statement of claim and writ of summon before the state High Court in Yenagoa stated that the land on which the property is located at the Otiotio junction on the Mbiama/Yenagoa road in Yenizue-Gene community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state was acquired in September 2014 and a deed of assignment was made between its company and that of the vendors company.

According to it, “The claimant states that after the purchase, it applied for a certificate of occupancy of the land which was also granted.”

The said consent certificate is hereby pleaded and shall be founded upon at the hearing of the matter. It also state that prior to the granting of the consent certificate, it had already been given implementation/construction permit by the office of the third defendant and it commenced its head office project and subsequently got the development plan approval.

“At the conclusion of the project, the office of the third respondent wrote a letter to the applicant congratulating it on the successful completion of the project using best practices quality building materials and qualified personnel. That at every material time when construction of the applicant’s head office was ongoing and inspections were conducted by agent.

“The said implementation permit as well as the development plan approval gotten from the third respondents’ office are hereby pleaded and shall be founded upon at the hearing on the matter. The company also claimed that they were however surprised that the third respondent who is an agency of the 1strespondent (Bayelsa State Government) has pasted a removal/demolition notice on the head office of the claimant despite all the other documents mentioned. The said removal/demolition notice is hereby pleaded and shall be founded upon at the court.”

The company in its Motion on Notice is however seeking an order restraining the third respondent, Bayelsa Physical Planning and Development Board, their agents, assigns and any other persons working for or on behalf of them from removing/demolishing the head office of the applicant.

It was however gathered from some senior government officials that the face-off between the Bayelsa State Physical Planning and Development Board and owners of the buildings purportedly marked for demolition was due to the failed investments in the Baraza Multipurpose Cooperative society with millions of investors allegedly trapped.