On Thursday, the Kano government agreed to pay N3 billion to compensate the Incorporated Trustees of Masallacin Eid Shop Owners and Traders Association for demolishing their properties.

The agreement was reached through an application on terms of settlement dated December 12 and filed on December 13 by counsel to parties before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court.

Following the demolition of the shops on Governor Abba Yusuf’s order, 56 applicants, on behalf of the association, had filed the suit marked FHC/KN/CS/208/2023 in the Kano division.

The applicants sued the Kano government, its Urban Planning and Development Authority, the attorney general, the police, the assistant inspector general of police Zone 1, Kano, the police commissioner in Kano, the NSCDC commandant, and the NSCDC Kano command.

Justice Samuel Amobeda had, on September 29, in a judgment, ordered the state government to pay the traders N30 billion as compensation against the traders’ N250 billion demand for the illegal demolition of their property.

But following the refusal of the state government to obey the Kano court order, the traders filed an ex-parte motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1382/2023 before Justice Ekwo, seeking an order for garnishee order Nisi attaching the funds (present and future) of the Kano government, KNUPDA, attorney general, including but limited to Kano Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) Account.

They also attached the UBA account number 1019716320, Polaris account number:: 1790249410 and other accounts in the custody of the respective garnishees to the tune of N30 billion in satisfaction of the September 29 judgment, among other reliefs, and Justice Ekwo granted the application on November 28.

Some garnishees joined in the suit include the CBN, account-general of the federation, Federal Ministry of Finance, FAAC, UBA, Zenith Bank, Unity Bank, Polaris Bank, among others.

However, upon resumed hearing on Thursday, counsel to the judgment creditors (traders), Dr N A Ayagi, who read the garnishee proceedings initiated against the judgement debtors (state government and others) and the garnishees, informed the court that the parties had reached an agreement.

“We are glad to inform the court that the judgment creditors and the judgment debtors have reached settlement. We have accordingly filed our terms of settlement,” he said.

Mr Ayagi then adopted the terms of settlement and urged the court to enter it as a consent judgement.

Also, the lawyer to the judgment debtors, Affis Matanmi, did not object to the application, and Mr Ekwo consequently delivered the judgment as consented to by the parties.

(NAN)