Kano Govt Seals Law Office of Senior Advocate Again, Says Premises Belongs to Someone Else
Kano State government has again sealed the law office of Nureini Jimoh, SAN, Friday morning, saying the premises does not belong to the lawyer, and that he was not the target.
Jimoh was instrumental in a number of lawsuits that the state lost against his various clients, the most recent been the dismissal of the execute members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state.
The senior advocate’s office was earlier locked by the government early Wednesday and was later unlocked after a lot of hue and cries.
On Thursday, the state government issued statements from the ministry of information as well as the Bureau of Land Management claiming that the owner of the premises at No C14/C16 Murtala Muhammad Way was owing ground rents.
Kano State Bureau for Land Management’s statement was signed by its information officer, Murtala Shehu Umar, who said that the state government sealed the property belonging to Isiyaka Rabi’u & Sons at C14/C16, Murtala Muhammad way through its committee on Land Use Charges.
He wrote that “The committee issued a demand notice to the owner of the said property on the 14th September, 2021 and also served him with warning notice after a month reminding him to come and pay the outstanding ground rent that he did not pay from 2016 to 2021.”
“As Land custodian our record shows that property in plot C14/C16 belongs to Isiyaka Rabi’u & Sons not Barrister Nuraini Jimo. Our concern is the owner of the property not who is renting the property.”
He said “Based on this development Kano State Bureau for Land Management is appealing to the property owners to come and settle their land charges.”
On his part, the state information commissioner, said in his own statement that: “…Task Force Committee on Land Use Charges sealing of a one-storey building along Murtala Muhammad Way which accommodated many offices including the chamber of a lawyer who won a case against the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the conduct of its ward congresses was but a mere coincidence.”
He said “… contrary to the media report, particularly online platforms, there was no any link whatsoever between the sealing of the office and outcome of the court ruling.”
He added that “… officials of the Task Force Committee on Land Use Charges of the state Bureau for Land Management working in conjunction with the state Internal Revenue Service (KIRS) were on their routine assignment of enforcing payment of land use charges as part of effort to enhance the state revenue generation drive.”
He pointed out that “… available record at the bureau, the property at C14/C16 Murtala Muhammad Way belongs to Isyaka Rabi’u & Sons not the said lawyer, Barr. Nureini Jimoh and it was sealed by the committee after it issued a demand notice to the owner on September14, 2021 and later a warning notice after failing to respond to the demand for the payment of outstanding ground rent for a period of five years (2016-2021).”
He said “… during its operation, the committee had sealed seven other defaulting properties on December 1, 2021 on same Murtala Muhammad Way as well as in other part of the state that included those along Zoo Road, Zaria Road and Ibrahim Taiwo Road.”
He stated that “… the committee or the bureau only deals with the property owner not the tenant renting it and dismissed media report linking it with the recent political development in the state.
But the claim that notice was served on the owners of the premises in September has been countered, as other tenants said notice was served on the lawyer on the same day government sealed the property, thereby giving the impression that the government was pursuing a vendetta against the law office that played a role in the political lawsuit it lost a day before.
Share your thoughts on the story with Nigerian Sketch in the comments section below.
