Reprieve came the way of traders at the popular Ladipo Market on Friday when a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja restrained officials of the Mushin local government area of Lagos State from going ahead with the planned demolition of the market.
The court presided over by Justice Iyabo Akinkugbe ordered the local government to maintain the status quo pending the hearing and determination of a suit filed by some traders in the market.
No fewer than 10 traders including Nnamdi Chukwuka and Franco Offia had approached the court seeking an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the local government, either by itself, agents, officials, privies, servants or persons, from unlawfully carrying out any demolitions or ejection of the applicants from their respective business premises at the market pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit filed before the court.
The traders are also asking for the sum of N5 million damages as compensation for the loss they suffered when part of the market was demolished in June 2015.
The case was however stalled due to a prayer by counsel to the defendant (Mushin local government), Mrs A.O. Akin-Ajayi, seeking more time to respond to the suit because she was served with a copy of the processes only recently (July 27).
Akin-Ajayi told the court that she was surprised that the traders decided to file the action after a group, Igbo Conscience Group, waded into the matter.
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