Lagos, Nigeria — The Federal High Court in Lagos has struck out a suit filed by Mrs. Stella Ifeoma Okengwu, Chief Executive Officer of Winhomes Global Services Limited, over claims linked to the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway project, bringing judicial clarity to the dispute.
Mrs. Okengwu had instituted Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1803/2024, alleging that the alignment of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway was diverted into what she described as a Winhomes residential development located in Okun Ajah, a coastal community in Lagos State. She publicly claimed that the development represented an investment valued at more than $250 million.
The Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway is a major federal government infrastructure initiative designed to connect Lagos in southwestern Nigeria to Calabar in Cross River State in the south south region of the country. The project is supervised by Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Senator David Nweze Umahi.
However, documents filed by Mrs. Okengwu became central to the court’s determination. In her affidavit supporting the Originating Summons and in a further affidavit, she stated that Winhomes Global Services Limited had sold the land in dispute to third parties.
In its ruling on preliminary objections, the Federal High Court held that Mrs. Okengwu and her company lacked locus standi to institute the action because they no longer held any proprietary interest in the land. The court found that the plaintiffs failed to disclose a reasonable cause of action against the defendants.
The court further ruled that the issues presented were matters of land use and alleged trespass, which fall outside the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court under Section 251 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. On that basis, the suit was struck out for lacking merit.
The ruling provides formal judicial clarification following sustained public debate and media attention surrounding the project and the status of the disputed land. With the case dismissed at the Federal High Court level, the legal challenge mounted by Winhomes Global Services Limited has concluded at this stage, subject to any further legal steps that may be pursued.