An Osborne-Ikoyi High Court of Lagos State, has restrained the Lagos State Government and its agencies from continuing the construction of a residential estate within the premises of Gbaja Boys High School, Surulere, following a legal action instituted by residents of Modupe Johnson Crescent.
Justice Y. J. Badejo-Okusanya, made the restraining order while delivering ruling on January 27, 2026, in an Exparte motion filed and moved by Barrister Imran O. Shitta-Bey, on the the behalf of the Incorporated Trustees of Modupe Johnson Crescent Residents Association, in a suit marked LD/5840LM/2025.
Affected by the restraining order are: Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Development and Property Corporation and seven others.
The residents, through their counsel, Shitta-Bey, sought pre-emptive injunctive reliefs to stop ongoing residential construction allegedly being carried out by the LSDPC within the school grounds.
In granting the application, the court issued a Pre-Emptive Order of Injunction directing the first and second respondents, the Managing Director of LSDPC and the Corporation itself, to immediately stop all construction activities on the site pending the completion of pre-action protocol.
The court further restrained the respondents, their agents, contractors, or any persons acting on their behalf from continuing the development of a residential estate within the premises of Gbaja Boys High School.
Justice Badejo-Okusanya also ordered the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, through the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority and the Lagos State Building Control Agency, to seal up the construction site.
The court further ruled that the orders would remain in force until the completion of Pre-action protocol.
Meanwhile, the suit has been adjourned to February 27, 2026.
In a further affidavit deposed to by Babatunde Ajayi, a trustee of the residents’ association and landlord on Modupe Johnson Crescent, the applicants detailed a series of events leading to the court action.
Ajayi stated that the residents had earlier initiated pre-action steps, including serving a Memorandum of Claim on the respondents and proposing alternative dispute resolution through the Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse or relevant government offices.
He disclosed that a stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education in December 2025 resolved that construction work should stop pending regulatory investigations.
Following the meeting, enforcement agencies, including the Lagos State Building Control Agency and the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, reportedly issued stop-work, contravention, and seal orders on the structures.
Despite these enforcement notices, the affidavit alleged that construction continued “at an alarming rate,” prompting the residents to seek urgent judicial intervention.
The applicants expressed concern that unless restrained, the respondents might permanently take over land designated for educational purposes.
