A Kano State High Court has ordered the Kano State Government to pay a total of ₦2.6 billion in compensation and damages to Tiamin Multi Services Global Limited over the illegal revocation and demolition of its hospital project in Gyadi Gyadi, Tarauni Local Government Area.
The judgment was delivered on Wednesday by Justice Ibrahim Karaye, who ruled that the action of the government under former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje was unlawful, unconstitutional, and a violation of the Land Use Act.
The disputed property, located along Court Road, Gyadi Gyadi, was being developed into an ultra-modern hospital before it was revoked and demolished while construction was at an advanced stage.
Justice Karaye held that the revocation notice issued by the Kano State Bureau for Land Management, dated September 3, 2021, was done without prior notice or a fair hearing, thereby rendering the act null and void.
“A declaration is hereby made that the purported revocation of the plaintiff’s right of occupancy... without notice at all is unconstitutional, null, void, and of no legal effect whatsoever,”;; the judge ruled.
He further declared that the Certificates of Occupancy covering the property — specifically LKN/COM/2017/116 (recertified as LPKN 1188), MLKN01622, and MLKN01837 — remain valid and subsisting.
Justice Karaye also condemned the state government’s decision to demolish the property during the pendency of the court case, describing it as “unconstitutional, illegal and unlawful.”;;
The court awarded ₦2.125 billion as special damages for the expenses incurred in developing the land, ₦500 million as general damages for the illegal demolition, and ₦10 million as the cost of filing the suit bringing the total compensation to ₦2.635 billion.
“A declaration of this court is made that the purported revocation... and demolishing her multi-million naira structure without giving it a due and valid notice as well as an opportunity of being heard... is contrary to the provisions of the Land Use Act,”;; Justice Karaye stated.
The court also ordered the immediate vacation of the property by the government and permanently restrained it or any of its agents from interfering with the company’s ownership and possession of the land.
