By, (Springnewsng | June 30, 2025):

Lagos Socialite Files ₦50 Million Suit Against Police Over Alleged Harassment in Banana Island Apartment Dispute

Lagos-based socialite, Gail Fajembola, has filed a ₦50 million fundamental rights enforcement lawsuit against the Nigeria Police Force at the Federal High Court in Lagos, citing unlawful harassment, intimidation, and threats allegedly instigated by private individuals over a property dispute in Banana Island, Ikoyi.

The suit, marked FHC/L/CS/2025, was filed by her legal counsel, Akin Apara of BA LAW LLP, and seeks judicial relief from what Fajembola describes as a violation of her constitutional rights. She is asking the court to declare that the police acted outside their powers by intervening in a purely civil matter involving possession of Flat K9-2, Ocean Parade Towers, Banana Island.

The respondents include the Inspector General of Police, the AIG (Zone 2), the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, one Ogbonna Nweke, Olutoyi Estate Development & Services Ltd, and businessman Tunde Ayeni.

Fajembola seeks a perpetual injunction restraining the police (1st to 4th respondents) from any further interference in her rights to liberty, dignity, and freedom of movement, as guaranteed under Sections 35(1), 36, 41(1), and 46(1) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.

She also demands ₦50 million in damages for what she describes as unlawful and unconstitutional threats and harassment, including intimidation by police officers acting allegedly on behalf of Ayeni and the estate firm.

According to a 10-paragraph affidavit deposed by Olawale Arowosaye, a litigation clerk at BA LAW LLP, the dispute originated from a personal relationship between Fajembola and Mr. Ayeni. She claims Ayeni allowed her to occupy the apartment in 2016, and she invested $45,792 to furnish it before relocating to the UK in 2019.

After relocating, she temporarily used the apartment as an Airbnb and later leased it to Expand Global Industries Ltd in 2022, allegedly with Ayeni’s verbal consent. However, following the breakdown of their relationship, Fajembola says Ayeni and Olutoyi Estate Development began demanding the eviction of the tenant and return of the property.

“Instead of pursuing legal eviction procedures, the respondents turned to the police to apply unlawful pressure on me, my agent, and the tenant,” Fajembola stated in court.

She maintains she was never arrested or detained, contrary to media reports, and clarified she never claimed ownership or tried to sell the property. She also noted that she formally handed over the apartment in April 2025, leaving behind household items she had purchased.

Despite stepping away from the property, Fajembola says the police intimidation and media attacks continue, making her afraid to return to Lagos and causing her emotional and psychological distress. She urged the court to stop what she called the abuse of police powers in civil matters.

However, in a counteraction, Olutoyi Estate Development & Services Ltd, through its legal team, Legal Resources Alliance, submitted a formal petition to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, accusing Fajembola of fraudulently leasing the apartment.

In the petition dated June 13, 2025, the company alleges Fajembola used her company, GIF Energy Resources Ltd, to sublet the apartment for over three years, collecting rent estimated at over ₦100 million, without the owner’s consent.

The company says she was originally granted access to the apartment on humanitarian grounds, having claimed to be homeless. It argues that she was never given tenancy rights and that her leasing activities have caused them serious financial and reputational harm.

The petition, titled “Re: Petition Against Gail Fajembola and GIF Energy Resources Limited for Fraudulent Conversion and Unauthorised Leasing of Apartment K9-2, Ocean Parade, Banana Island, Lagos”, was acknowledged by the Office of the IGP on June 17, 2025.

The court is expected to hear the matter in the coming weeks as the legal battle between the socialite and the property stakeholders continues to unfold.