A daughter of former President Umar Musa Yar’Adua and the husband of the widow of former Taraba Governor, Hauwa Suntai are engaged in a legal battle over a piece of land in the Kado district of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
PRNigeria, gathered that, Zainab Yar’Adua who was formerly married to a former Governor of Kebbi State, Saidu Dakingari is laying claim to ownership of plot 506, Cadastral Zone B09, Kado District, Abuja.
Through her company, Marumza Estate Development Company Limited, Zainab sued another Company, Itban Global Resources Limited, its founder, Halliru Saad Malami, FCT Minister and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) on the disputed land.
Haliru Saad Malami who is Turai Yar’Adua’s cousin is the husband to Hauwa Suntai, the widow of the late former governor of Taraba State, Danbaba Suntai. Their marriage was consummated in a low-key ceremony in June 2019 when Hauwa was then in her 50s and Malami in his 30s.
Hauwa’s late husband was involved in a plane crash in October 2012 and died on June 28, 2017, in Houston, Florida, in the United States.
Through her counsel, Chief Sebastine Hon SAN, Zainab filed a motion on notice praying the Abuja high court to issue an injunctive order to stop the defendants in her suit from taking any further actions on the disputed land.
She claimed that the plot of land was donated to her through an Irrevocable Power of Attorney executed at the Federal Capital Development Authority FCDA by Itban Global Resources Limited through a purchase.
However, in a counter-affidavit by Mr Malami and his company filed by their counsel Dr Remi Peter Olatubora SAN, they alleged that Ms Yar’Adua, using one Sani Rabo and others as “fronts,” unlawfully procured documents about the disputed property in the name of the 1st and 2nd defendants respectively.
Itban alleged that one Sani Rabo who knew the history of the land conspired with the claimant to forge letters, power of attorney, resolutions, among others to fraudulently transfer ownership of the land to the claimant.
Claiming that the land was allocated to them on June 5, 2009, upon payment of all mandatory fees, the two defendants said the land was not developed because it was in the bush then.
In their affidavit, the two defendants described Ms Zainab’s Company as a sham having been allegedly registered in gross violation of Company And Allied Matters CAMA laws at the Corporate Affairs Commission CAC.
Specifically, they alleged that the two directors paraded to register the company on July 15, 2009, Umar Ibrahim Lange and Maryam Sa’idu were her biological children from her two former husbands who were 7 and one years respectively at the time they were used as directors to secure registration in breach of CAMA laws.
The two defendants pleaded with certified true copies of documents obtained from Corporate Affairs Commission CAC and FCDA to counter the claimant’s claim and establish their ownership of the land.
Meanwhile, Justice Olukayode Adeniyi asked parties in the case to go into the substantive matters instead of seeking injunctive order.
Based on agreement by parties, the Judge ordered that the status quo be maintained pending resolving issues in dispute. He, therefore, ordered an accelerated hearing into the case and adjourned its definite hearing till October 12, 13 and 15, 2021.
