•IGP Kayode Egbetokun
A Lagos-based socialite, Gail Fajembola, has filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit before the Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking judicial intervention over what she described as continuous threats, harassment, and intimidation allegedly orchestrated by the Nigeria Police Force on behalf of private individuals.”
In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/2025, and filed by her counsel, Akin Apara of BA LAW LLP, the applicant is asking the court to declare that the police have no lawful authority to interfere in a purely civil dispute over possession of an apartment, Flat K9-2, Ocean Parade Towers, Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos, reports The PUNCH.
The respondents in the action are the Inspector General of Police, the Assistant Inspector General of Police (Zone 2), the Commissioner of Police (Lagos State Command), one Ogbonna Nweke, Olutoyl Estate Development & Services Ltd, and businessman Tunde Ayeni.
Fajembola is urging the court to hold that “any attempt or threat by the police to arrest, detain, or otherwise interfere with my liberty or dignity on account of a private civil disagreement is unconstitutional, unlawful, and an abuse of police powers.”
She is also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the 1st to 4th respondents (the police authorities) from further interfering with her constitutionally guaranteed rights to personal liberty, dignity of human person, and freedom of movement, as enshrined under Sections 35(1), 36, 41(1), and 46(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Additionally, she is asking the court to award N50m in damages for what she terms “unlawful and unconstitutional interference with my rights through threats, harassment, and police intimidation.”
In a 10-paragraph affidavit in support of the originating motion, deposed to by Olawale Arowosaye, a litigation clerk at BA LAW LLP, the court was informed that the dispute arose from a soured personal relationship between the applicant and the 6th respondent, Mr Tunde Ayeni.
According to the affidavit, “Mr Ayeni allowed the applicant to take possession of the apartment in 2016. She spent $45,792 of her funds to furnish it and lived there until she relocated to the United Kingdom in 2019.”
Following her relocation, the apartment was temporarily used as an Airbnb and later leased in 2022 to Expand Global Industries Ltd for a term of one year.
The applicant maintains that the lease was executed with the full knowledge and verbal consent of the sixth respondent.
However, upon the breakdown of their relationship, the applicant alleges that Ayeni and Olutoyl Estate Development & Services Ltd. began making demands for her to evict the tenant and surrender possession of the property.
“Rather than pursue lawful eviction through the courts, the 5th and 6th respondents turned to the police to exert unlawful pressure on me, my agent, and the tenant,” Fajembola stated in her affidavit.
She contends that the Nigeria Police Force summoned her and others to their offices where they were allegedly subjected to harassment and intimidation.
She further averred that she was never arrested or detained contrary to various media reports suggesting otherwise.
“I wish to state categorically that I have never been arrested or detained by the police and at no point did I claim ownership of the property or purport to sell it. Those reports are false and malicious,” she said.
Fajembola told the court that she formally handed over the apartment to Ayeni and the real estate firm in April 2025, leaving behind household appliances and furnishings she acquired.
She insists that she has since moved on from the property but continues to be subjected to threats and harassment.
According to her, “The ongoing pressure from the respondents, including unwarranted police involvement and negative media narratives, has made it unsafe for me to visit Lagos and has caused me considerable emotional and psychological distress.”
She prayed the court to declare that the use of the police to settle private civil disputes, especially involving property matters, constitutes a violation of her rights and must be stopped.
Meanwhile, Olutoyi Estate Development & Services Ltd, through its lawyer, Legal Resources Alliance, submitted a formal petition to the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, accusing Fajembola of fraudulently converting and leasing out a luxury apartment located at Flat K9-2, Ocean Parade Towers, Banana Island, Lagos.
The petition, dated June 13, 2025, alleged that Ms Fajembola unlawfully took possession of the high-end apartment and subsequently sublet it to third-party tenants without consent, generating rental income estimated to exceed N100m.
According to the petition, “Ms Gail Fajembola was initially permitted to reside in the apartment strictly on humanitarian grounds. This act of kindness was extended to her by our client after she claimed to be homeless and without shelter.”
The legal representatives emphasised that the accommodation granted to Fajembola was never intended to confer any tenancy rights or to authorise her to lease the property to others.
“Our client has now uncovered what appears to be a calculated and sustained scheme,” the petition reads. “Through her company, GIF Energy Resources Limited, Ms. Fajembola leased out the apartment for over three years, collecting substantial rental payments without the knowledge or authorisation of the rightful owner.”
The petitioner accused Fajembola of fraudulently converting the property for personal financial gain, stating that the unauthorised leasing has not only resulted in significant economic losses but has also caused reputational harm to the estate development company.
“It is shocking that someone who was granted access purely out of compassion would proceed to commercialise that access and exploit the property for personal enrichment,” the petition continued.
The document, titled “Re: Petition Against Gail Fajembola and GIF Energy Resources Limited for Fraudulent Conversion and Unauthorised Leasing of Apartment K9-2, Ocean Parade, Banana Island, Lagos,” was formally acknowledged by the Office of the Inspector General of Police on June 17, 2025.
