Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos has struck out a legal challenge filed against the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road project, ruling that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case. The suit, marked FHC/L/CS/1488/2024, was initiated by residents and property owners from the Okun-Ajah community in Eti-Osa Local Government Area, Lagos State.
In a judgment delivered on March 24, Justice Aluko ordered the case to be transferred to the Lagos State High Court, which he deemed the appropriate forum.
The plaintiffs—Chief Saheed Olukosi (Akogun of Okun-Ajah Community), Noibi Issa Afolayan, Yussuf Odunuga Sulaiman, Olufemi Fasehun, and Adeola Tokunbo—filed the suit on behalf of concerned property owners, challenging aspects of the coastal road construction, which they claim threatens ancestral land and properties.
The court’s decision does not end the case but redirects it to the proper judicial authority, keeping the legal challenge against the high-profile infrastructure project alive. The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, a key national development initiative, has faced increasing scrutiny over compensation, environmental impact, and community displacement.
The defendants/objectors are the Minister, Dr. Dave Umahi; Olukorede Keisha; Federal Ministry of Works & Housing; Attorney-General of Lagos State; Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development; Surveyor-General of Lagos State; General Manager, Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority; General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency and Hitech Construction Limited.
The plaintiffs, through their lawyers, A.O. Ajiboye and E. C. Okorie, had asked the court to stop the project on several grounds.