By Bisi Bamishe
The management of Great Nigeria Insurance Plc. (GNI) has cleared air surrounding its 25 storey building that got burnt on the eve of Christmas day in Lagos.
The press statement released by the management of the company reads, “We refer to the unfortunate fire incident that occurred during the Christmas break at No. 47/57, Martins Street, Lagos Island, and sympathise with everyone who must have been impacted in one way or another by the fire incident.
We wish to state for the records that Great Nigeria Insurance Plc. (GNI) was granted a long lease of bare land at No. 47/57, Martins Street, Lagos Island by the Shitta-Bey Family and this lease is due to expire on the 31st of December, 2036. GNI erected a 25-storey building on the said land for strategic investment purposes (the property).”
The company stated that GNI has since been in court with the Shitta-Bey family on the property because the family instituted three separate suits against GNI at both the Lagos State High Court and the Federal High Court. All the suits were decided in favour of GNI.
Thereafter, the family filed separate appeals in the Lagos Judicial Division of the Court of Appeal. In the year 2020, during the pendency of these appeals, the Shitta-Bey family, in utter disregard of the court orders in the suits between it and GNI, and during the subsistence of the unexpired leasehold of GNI; resorted to self-help, forcefully entered, and took over possession of the property. The Shitta-Bey family also proceeded to lease out the property to tenants without recourse to GNI.
As a responsible corporate organisation with its cherished corporate image to protect, GNI followed the legal path by approaching the High Court of Lagos State through a trespass action.
“The High Court ordered the Shitta-Bey family to vacate possession of the property and also restrained the family from continuing with further acts of trespass on the property. The family, being dissatisfied, appealed against the said ruling of the court. In the interim, the substantive suit challenging the family for trespass is still pending at the Lagos Judicial Division of the High Court of Lagos State, the company added..
Consequently, GNI has for over five years been denied physical possession of the property. Our company neither has any dealings whatsoever with the management nor with any of the tenants occupying the property for these years.
“We wish to thank the general public, our numerous stakeholders, especially our customers for their concern, and to reassure them that this fire incident has not affected our operations in any way. GNI does not maintain any office in the burnt building, nor does it conduct any operations whatsoever therein.
Our head office remains at No. 8 Omo Osagie Street, Off Awolowo Road, S.W, Ikoyi, Lagos and we continue to conduct our legitimate businesses therein, and in all our other branches in Nigeria”.
