A Federal High Court has dismissed the lawsuit filed by Stella Ifeoma Okengwu and her company, Winhomes Global Services Limited, against the Minister of Works over the route of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, ruling that the case lacked merit.
The suit, which had been the subject of media attention, centred on allegations that the highway’s path was diverted into a residential development belonging to Winhomes in Okun Ajah, Lagos, allegedly jeopardizing an investment worth over $250 million.
However, the court’s ruling, delivered on preliminary objections, found that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to bring the action. This decision was based on affidavits submitted by Mrs. Okengwu herself in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1803/2024, in which she deposed that Winhomes had already sold the land in question to third parties.
In a statement following the ruling, the Special Adviser (Media) to the Minister of Works, Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji, said the judgment “brings needed context to the ongoing public discussions and underscores the importance of relying on verified judicial findings rather than unsubstantiated media assertions.”
The court held that having divested its interest in the property, the company could not demonstrate a sufficient stake to maintain the lawsuit and failed to disclose a reasonable cause of action.
Furthermore, the court determined that the core of the claims related to land use and alleged trespass, matters which fall outside the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court as defined by Section 251 of the Nigerian Constitution.
The ruling brings a conclusion to a highly publicised dispute and challenges the narrative publicly advanced by the complainant, which described the site as a major residential development.
Official statements from the Ministry of Works had previously contested this, characterising the development on the land as “in substance, only a gatehouse structure.”
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