Following a breakdown of an agreement, a Lagos family known as the Bolade has sued Wema Bank Plc over the ongoing use of their building premises known as Bolade House, located in the Oshodi Expressway, Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Area of the state.
Platinum Times learned that the managers of the banking institution allegedly refused to leave the premises despite the family eviction order being placed on the bank.
A document given to our correspondent states that the family leased the building to Wema Bank in 1995 for a 25-year period that would end on April 30, 2020.
The bank was reported to have requested further time to move once the lease expired, resulting in a three-year tenancy that was believed to have started on May 1, 2020, and ended on April 30, 2023, at a cost of N6m each year.
The family eventually refused this offer because they thought the property was worth more than the amount the bank was willing to pay, but when this period of time had passed, the family’s lawyer and the bank resumed negotiations. This led to a five-year lease rent of N8 million each year.
Madam Helen Kupoluyi, the family’s head of household, stated that they were unable to accept the offer since the apartment had been given a value of over N50m by a property valuer the family hired.
Kupoluyi said,
“When the bank leased out the middle floor and was collecting rent on it without our consent, we never complained. We told them to employ their valuation of the building to get an appropriate rent for the building, but they refused. We charged them in court, but they refused to show up. We want them out of our building premises.”
The lawyer for the family, Abraham Adeoye, said, “We wrote a letter to Wema Bank, putting further negotiations on hold until a valuation is conducted. They refused.
“They insisted the rent be the N8m agreed to with the solicitors when no agreement had been signed. The family further reached out to Wema Bank and proposed that a joint valuation be carried out by a team of valuers from the bank and the family; they refused.
“We have not signed any tenancy agreement with Wema Bank, and no money was ever received from Wema Bank. As such, Wema Bank has been occupying the property free of charge since April 30, 2023, when its tenancy expired.”
Reacting, the spokesperson for the bank, Mrs Mabel Adeteye, said the feedback from the legal team was that the information provided by the family was incorrect.
Adeteye said,
“The information was completely wrong and false. All the information shared with you is wrong. We didn’t receive any letters to that effect. I don’t know what the motive is for the people; I know there is a conversation around the property.
“We had agreed on a certain amount for renewal, and the next thing they were waiting for from the family was for them to send a bank account number for payment. If they said they had gone to court, why not wait for the court to hear the two parties? Let them put their demands on a document; the bank can then look at it and respond.”
CC: The Punch