Court Orders Couple to Vacate House.
A landlady at Ago-Tailor Area of Odo- ona Ibadan, Mrs. Oladehinde, has dragged one of her tenants Mr. and Mrs. Bello to the Customary Court seated at Odo-Ona, Ibadan. She urged the court to send the couple packing from her building owing to incessant trouble making with her – the Landlady, her daughter and other tenants by Mrs. Bello.
Mrs. Oladehinde alleged that Mr. and Mrs. Bello obtained a room and parlor apartment in her building in the year 2016 and the agreement was that they will be paying annually a sum of N54,000 (US$150) for both rooms including fees for provision of security. She told the court that in 2017 the couple was able to pay for the rent on time and they have substantially paid up to date.
Notwithstanding that they owed N3,000 (US$ 8.33), the main reason for seeking the couple’s exit from her building was that Mrs. Bello remains a trouble maker. She used to create and was always involved in different kinds of fighting with occupants of the building including old tenants and without regard to any one including the landlady herself when it comes to fighting, Mrs. Oladehinde further alleged.
The landlady told the Court that she had served the couple quit notice 3 times but her younger sister would come from Lagos to plead on their behalf but this time around she said she could not bear it anymore. Mrs. Oladehinde further told court that Mr. Bello is a responsible and a cool headed man but his wife is a trouble inventor and it was obvious that Mr. Bello cannot check and control his wife. As their landlady, she wants the Court to help her send them away from her building.
Mrs. Oladehinde added that Mrs. Bello left her husband’s apartment and went to her daughter’s house to fight her. Besides, a new tenant turned on an electricity generator plant, Mrs. Bello went to the new tenant and started fighting him that his electricity generator plant was disturbing her and she wanted to destroy the said electricity generator plant. In addition, instead of her to be washing clothes downstairs, Mrs. Bello insisted at washing clothes upstairs and if someone tried to correct her she will turn it into a big fight in the house, the landlady alleged.
At present, the couple’s house rent has expired and she would not be ready to collect any house rent from the couple again and that is why she was at the court so that the couple can be legally sent off of her house, the landlady told the court.
Mr. Bello a staff of a renown Company in Ibadan agreed that they obtained the said apartment in the year 2016 when he paid for a year. When the money expired in the year 2017, due hard times in the country he was unable to pay for the house rent in the year 2017. He told the Court that he spent the whole of 2017 without paying rent but in May 2018, he paid for a full year 2017 which he owed. Mrs. Oladehinde reacted to this but he appealed to her younger sister to plead to her on his behalf, Mr. Bello added.
Mr. Bello further told Court that he applied for a loan for which he spent to pay N30,000.00 (US$83.3) part of the 2018 house rent. Later, when he noticed that there was a construction work in the building for which he felt Mrs. Oladehinde would need money in the September. he said he raised another N10,000 (US$27.8) which he gave to her landlady. Mr. Bello said that he knows that he owes his landlady a sum of N14,000 (US$ 38.9)to balance the rent for the `2018 but she insisted that she will never have it from him.
He prayed the court to give him till the end of December to vacate the apartment occupied by him at Mrs. Oladehinde’s building but Mrs. Oladehinde interjected and disagreed. She urged the court to send the couple out by the end of November, 2018.
In his judgment, Chief Fabiyi ordered Mr. Bello to vacate Mrs. Oladehinde’s house by the end of December. His Honour also ordered that before Mr. Bello vacates the house, he must pay the rents for November and December but if he gets another building by end of November he should not pay for December rent.