By Steven Atokolo
Contempt proceedings have been filed against pastors of Harvesters International Christian Centre for allegedly disobeying a subsisting order of the High Court of Lagos State regarding a disputed parcel of land at Gbagada Industrial Estate.
The contempt proceedings were initiated through Form 48 – Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Court Order, issued under the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act.
The notice warns that unless the pastors comply with the judgment, they risk committal to prison.
Those listed in the notice include Senior Pastor Bolaji Idowu, Pastor Omowunmi Idowu, and Pastor Adedeji Agboade, who also serves as Secretary of the church’s Board of Trustees.
The notice, signed pursuant to Section 72 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act and Order IX Rule 13 of the Judgment Enforcement Rules, directs the pastors to obey the order of Justice O.A. Ogala delivered on December 6, 2022.
In that judgment, the court granted the claimant possession of Plot 5, Block B, Gbagada Industrial Estate, located in Shomolu Local Government Area, Lagos State, while restraining the defendants and their agents from trespassing or interfering with the property.
The warning reads in part: “Unless you obey the order of the court granting possession of the said land and restraining trespass, you will be guilty of contempt of court and liable to be committed to prison”.
This development underscores the escalating legal battle over the four-acre property facing the Gbagada–Oworonshoki Expressway, which has been at the center of prolonged litigation.
The High Court of Lagos State has already declared that the land belongs to 11 PLC.
See also Dangote Refinery makes case for 100% Nigerian crude …as Senate probes alleged sabotage in petroleum industry By Our Correspondent The Dangote Refinery has made passionate appeal to the Senate, NNPCL, NUPRC, NDMPRA and other stakeholders in the industry to help supply the refinery its crude oil need 100 per cent from Nigeria. Group Strategy Officer, Dangote Refinery, Aliyu Suleiman made the appeal at the Senate Ad-hoc Committee probing alleged economic sabotage in petroleum industry at the Senate Complex, Abuja on Wednesday. He said right now, the refinery bought about 50 million barrels of crude out of which about 60% comes from NNPC. Mr. Suleiman who expressed gratitude to NNPC for their support, added that, essentially, all they are asking is for them to get their crude requirement from Nigeria 100%. “Let's be very clear, we are happy to pay fair prices. We hope that we'll work with the regulator and we'll get their support so that the refinery can get 100% of its crude from Nigeria and buy the crude from companies that produce it in Nigeria not from international middlemen. “We count on support of the committee, the regulators and other stakeholders to ensure that the refinery succeeds, because if it does, aside from the other obvious benefits, like forex generation, job creation and the rest, most importantly, there is the psychological benefit of making, giving Nigerians, Africa in general, the confidence that we can succeed. Giving a progress update on the refinery, Mr. Suleiman said since the refinery started full trial production in January and then full time production started in March, we processed about 50 million barrels of crude. “We have produced about five million tons of petroleum products. And these petroleum products have been sold to various parts of the country and Jet oil has been sold in Europe since May. He said other products have been sent to places as far as Asia, US, Brazil, and so on. So the refinery has been making a lot of progress. He emphasized the importance of deliberately protecting local industries for the over all economic development of the country. According to him, “the US, for example, has done that, to protect their own industries against attack by China that subsidize their own industries and then sends them to the US. So that's the first question. We want to urge the committee to consider if we deserve protection against them”. He posed three basic questions that revolved around protection of local industries for the consideration of the committee and Nigerians at large. The questions are: “Do local refineries deserve protection from NUPRC? “Should Nigeria protect its infant industries in order to improve investment? “Should local refineries have preferential access to Nigerian crude? He said Dangote found itself competing against Russian products that were produced with oil that is valued at $60. “We all know that because of the cap that has been put Russian oil, the value of Russian oil today in the market is $60. And that's what Russia is using to produce their products and those products are being sent in large quantities into Africa to compete with products that are produced in refineries that buy crude at $90. “We don't think this will be a fair competitive environment and I think that when you have such unfair competition, it is normal to put protective measures. “I think even in the animal world, the moment a new baby is born, they don't just go and leave it out in the wild. “What we want is to sell more of our products in Nigeria, because we believe we can do that, we can compete. And even though there are concerns that have been expressed around monopoly, that is a problem that has been identified. The right thing to do is to say, how do we address this problem? If monopoly is a risk, how do we address this risk while at the same time ensuring that we protect our domestic industries? The good thing is that in the PIA, there are provisions around that, you can monitor and take action if you feel there's monopoly.
Following the judgment, the Sheriff of the High Court executed the order on April 15, 2025, placing 11 PLC in exclusive, lawful, and peaceful possession of the property.
However, reports indicate that Harvesters International Christian Centre allegedly colluded with omo onile and, with the assistance of officers from the Zone 2 Police Command, forcefully took over the land despite the subsisting court judgment.
The church, reportedly backed by Zone 2 officers, allegedly mounted a signboard reading “Harvesters International Church” on the property and erased the Sheriff’s inscription on the fence which stated, “Possession taken by order of the Court.”
This was allegedly done with full knowledge that the omo onile who purportedly allocated the land to the church had no legal title to the property.
Observers claim that with the active support of Zone 2 officers, the church appears determined to unlawfully occupy land that both the police and the church know has been legally declared to belong to 11 PLC.
Critics expressed shock at the alleged conduct of Zone 2 officers who, rather than uphold the rule of law, were said to have aided illegality.
Despite not contesting the validity of the High Court judgment or the certificate of possession issued to 11 PLC, the police allegedly displaced the company from lawful possession at the instigation of Harvesters Church.
Efforts to persuade the church leadership to desist have reportedly failed, as the church, with continued police backing, remains determined to take over the land at all costs.
It will be recalled that in a landmark judgment delivered by Justice Ogala of the High Court, Ikeja, the court upheld the arguments of 11 PLC’s counsel, Adenrele Adegborioye Esq. of BA LAW LLP, and granted all reliefs sought by the company.
The court declared 11 PLC the lawful owner and holder of the statutory right of occupancy over the land, as described in Survey Plan No. LS/DKKJ/957 and covered by Certificate of Occupancy No. 79, Page 79, Volume 1998D of the Lagos State Lands Registry, Ikeja, dated June 28, 1998.
It further issued a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, privies, or servants from selling, leasing, or trespassing on the land.
Finally, the court granted 11 PLC exclusive possession of the land as the rightful owner.
