Unbelievable! Tenant Sues Landlady For Refusing To Sell Her House To Him

A high court in Lagos has dismissed a case filed by one Ademola Onitiju, a tenant, who sued his landlady for not selling her house to him.

In 2021, Onitiju, a retired air commodore and legal practitioner, took Theodosia Ogunnaike, the landlady of a four-bedroom duplex at Dolphin Estate in Ikoyi, to court for selling the property to another person after his initial negotiation with her.

The 59-year-old tenant, who started residing in the house in December 2015, said the property was first offered to him as first option to purchase but he did not pay for it immediately. Onitiju said he was initially asked to pay N170 million for the property, but he offered to pay N90 million instead, which was rejected by the landlady.

Unbelievable! Tenant Sues Landlady For Refusing To Sell Her House To Him

The retired air force officer said during the renegotiation process, he sold two-family properties to enable him to match the purchase price of N135 million which was later requested for.

He said he asked for a bank account detail to pay the purchase price, but he was not provided with any until the property was sold out to one Samuel Dare, a retired colonel.

Ogunnaike, a widow, said the property belongs to her daughter but she was managing it for her. The landlady said Onitiju used to pay his N4.5 million annual rent to her bank account and the rent was not increased during his stay, while they had a cordial relationship.

In her ruling, Judge Bola Okikiolu-Ighile said Onitiju’s evidence before the court did not support any of the reliefs sought by him and dismissed the case.

Onitiju has appealed against the judgment.

BY IYABO AINA

Publisher News Rain Nigeria