Woman battles Police over refusal to quit her hotel

Onitsha-born hotel proprietor, Mrs. Khadijat Lawal, and her family, have called on the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Olatunji Disu, to order the Police Mobile Force to immediately vacate her property, Idoko International Hotel, located at 3-3, Onitsha, in compliance with a court order.
Mrs Lawal equally demands the payment of the alleged outstanding debt of N21,666,667, said to be part of an accumulated N50 million owed to her family over the alleged prolonged occupation without payment for the 60-room hotel facility by PMF 54 Squadron, Onitsha, since 2009.
Speaking with newsmen in Onitsha, Mrs Lawal lamented that the continued occupation of the hotel by the PMF 54 Squadron in Onitsha has resulted in severe financial loss to her family and left the once-thriving hotel in an alarming, deplorable condition.
She said the hotel has deteriorated significantly and now requires urgent renovation and maintenance, accusing the MOPOL formation occupying it of badly damaging the hotel and turning it into an eyesore, while frustrating their repeated efforts to secure compliance with court directives on it.
We have written several petitions to relevant authorities, including the Police Service Commission (PSC), the Force Headquarters legal department in Abuja, and the Anambra State Police Command, demanding payment of the outstanding arrears and execution of the court-issued Warrant of Possession, yet they frustrated all our efforts and intimidated us.”
Mrs Lawal alleged that despite all lawful steps her family has taken, the PMF 54 Squadron refused to vacate the premises or settle the outstanding bill of N21,666,667 and claimed that her family had been denied access to conduct routine inspections of the hotel, contrary to an earlier agreement reached before the hotel was leased to the State Government for Police accommodation.
The hotel proprietor displayed copies of legal correspondence exchanged between her solicitors, Onyechi Araka and Company, and the Police Service Commission, as well as letters addressed to the Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police in Anambra State.
Among the documents presented were a Consent Judgment issued by the High Court of Anambra State, sitting in Onitsha, dated May 20, 2019, and a subsequent judgment delivered on January 20, 2020, by Justice D.A. Onyefulu.
She said the hotel has deteriorated significantly and now requires urgent renovation and maintenance, accusing the MOPOL formation occupying it of badly damaging the hotel and turning it into an eyesore, while frustrating their repeated efforts to secure compliance with court directives on it.