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Court Rejects Lafarge’s Bid to Stop Suit Over Planned Sale to Chinese Firm

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Court Rejects Lafarge’s Bid to Stop Suit Over Planned Sale to Chinese Firm

A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has dismissed an application by Lafarge Africa Plc challenging its jurisdiction to hear a suit over the company’s proposed sale of majority shares to a Chinese firm.
Justice Lewis Allagoa, delivering a ruling on Thursday, May 15, 2025, upheld the court’s authority to proceed with the matter filed by Strategic Consultancy Limited, a Nigerian firm and minority shareholder in Lafarge Africa.

Strategic Consultancy is seeking to stop Lafarge’s planned sale of 83 percent of its shares to Huaxin Cement Limited, a Chinese-based company. The plaintiff contends that the transaction was carried out secretly, excluding minority shareholders from the opportunity to purchase the shares. The suit also argues that the sale contravenes key Nigerian laws, including the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, the Securities and Exchange Act, and the Nigerian Investment Promotion Act, which prohibit certain transactions involving unregistered foreign entities and protect minority shareholder rights.

Lafarge, which is listed on the Nigerian Exchange, had earlier disclosed that the deal was part of an internal restructuring within the Holcim Group, a Swiss conglomerate that owns over 83 percent of Lafarge Africa’s issued share capital. The planned sale has drawn attention due to Lafarge’s historic acquisition of shares from three government-owned cement firms during the privatisation rounds of 2001 and 2002.

Justice Allagoa also ruled in favor of the plaintiff’s request to join two foreign entities—Caricement BV (Netherlands) and Associated International Cements Ltd (England)—which Lafarge identified as shareholders. The judge granted leave for the two new defendants to be served court processes outside Nigeria.

“The 1st and 2nd defendants’ motion objecting to the court’s jurisdiction is hereby dismissed,” Justice Allagoa ruled. “The persons sought to be joined herein are hereby joined as prayed, and leave to issue and serve the Originating Summons out of jurisdiction is hereby granted.”

The matter has been adjourned to June 11, 2025, for further proceedings

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Empowered Women, Stronger Nation: Building Futures Through Property Ownership

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Empowered Women, Stronger Nation: Building Futures Through Property Ownership

 

As the world commemorates International Women’s Day, attention rightly turns to the extraordinary role women play in shaping families, communities, and national economies. Beyond nurturing homes and leading in boardrooms, women are increasingly emerging as powerful drivers of nation-building through one of the most transformative assets of all, property ownership.

Across Nigeria, women are steadily breaking long-standing barriers in business, governance, technology, education, and entrepreneurship. Their expanding economic influence is uplifting households, strengthening institutions, and reinforcing the nation’s financial foundation. The evidence is clear: when women earn, communities prosper; when women invest, societies advance.

One of the most visible expressions of this progress is in real estate acquisition. Property ownership empowers women with security, stability, and the ability to build generational wealth. A home is more than a structure of concrete and steel, it is a platform for legacy, enterprise, social mobility, and long-term influence.

From young professionals purchasing their first plots of land to seasoned executives expanding diversified investment portfolios, Nigerian women are redefining wealth creation and strategic future planning. Their growing presence in the property market signals a cultural and economic shift toward asset-backed empowerment.

Real estate remains one of the safest and most rewarding investment paths, and women are embracing the opportunity with confidence. Their participation is reshaping urban development patterns, influencing housing demand, and stimulating construction, infrastructure growth, and employment value chains nationwide.

At Adron Homes and Properties, empowering women through property ownership is seen as a direct investment in national progress. Every woman who secures land or a home strengthens family stability, fuels economic growth, and inspires future generations to dream bigger and aim higher.

This International Women’s Day, women are celebrated not only for who they are, but for what they build:

* Builders of families
* Drivers of economic growth
* Investors in the future
* Architects of generational wealth

To honor their impact, Adron Homes is expanding access to ownership through flexible payment plans, inclusive investment opportunities, and customer-friendly support services designed to make property acquisition simple, transparent, and rewarding.

Because when women rise, nations thrive. And when women own property, the future is secured.

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International Women’s Day 2026: Adron Homes Champions Women’s Leadership and Inclusive Growth

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International Women’s Day 2026: Adron Homes Champions Women’s Leadership and Inclusive Growth

As the world marks International Women’s Day 2026, Adron Homes and Properties has reaffirmed its commitment to empowering women with meaningful opportunities to serve, lead, and shape the future of Nigeria’s real estate landscape.

Observed globally on March 8, this year’s theme, “Give To Gain,” calls for intentional investment in women through access to resources, education, mentorship, and leadership platforms. The message is clear: when women are empowered, organizations prosper, communities flourish, and nations grow stronger.

In line with this vision, Adron Homes highlighted its people-first culture, which promotes gender inclusion at all operational levels. From executive management and regional administration to marketing leadership, client experience, and field operations, women continue to play strategic roles in driving the company’s growth and service excellence.

According to the company, creating pathways for women to lead is not just a policy direction but a proven strategy that fuels innovation, strengthens decision-making, and deepens stakeholder trust.

Adron Homes also highlighted its internal capacity-building initiatives designed to equip female professionals with the skills and confidence needed for greater responsibility. Through structured mentorship, leadership exposure, and performance-based advancement systems, the organization continues to raise a new generation of women leaders within the property sector.

Delivering a message to commemorate the day, the Executive Vice Chairman, Olori Aderonke Emmanuelking, emphasized the company’s enduring commitment to inclusive progress:

“The theme ‘Give To Gain’ speaks to a principle we strongly believe in at Adron Homes, empowering women is an investment with lasting returns. When women are supported to lead and succeed, the impact goes beyond the workplace; it transforms families, industries, and society at large. We remain committed to building systems that help women rise and thrive.”

The company noted that its celebration of International Women’s Day reflects a broader mission, developing not only thriving residential communities but also a workplace culture where talent is recognized without bias and leadership opportunities are accessible to all.

As Adron Homes continues its expansion drive, it remains steadfast in fostering an environment where women are encouraged to contribute meaningfully, lead confidently, and grow sustainably.

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TERROR RETURNS TO IBADAN AS SUNDAY IGBHOBO UNLEASHES MAYHEM ON REAL ESTATE FIRMS, ALLEGEDLY BOASTS OF OLUBADAN’S BACKING

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TERROR RETURNS TO IBADAN AS SUNDAY IGBHOBO UNLEASHES MAYHEM ON REAL ESTATE FIRMS, ALLEGEDLY BOASTS OF OLUBADAN’S BACKING

Barely one month after basking in the euphoria of a presidential pardon and dramatic return from exile, Yoruba Nation firebrand Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has plunged Ibadan into fresh crisis mode, this time unleashing his loyalists on real estate companies across the ancient city in a reign of terror that has left developers trembling.

In a chilling replay of his combative past, Igboho has been spotted storming construction sites with a war convoy of over 15 vehicles, flanked by armed boys who descend on unsuspecting real estate firms like a swarm of locusts, shutting down operations and demanding settlement before companies can breathe. The latest incident, which occurred on Monday, saw Igboho and his gang invade the premises of a prominent real estate development firm, halting work completely and subjecting terrified staff to a torrent of fire and brimstone as workers fled for safety. At the same time, the activist read the riot act, warning them to pay up or pack up.

What has sent shockwaves through Ibadan’s business community is Igboho’s repeated boast that he is operating with the full backing of no less a personality than the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja. Witnesses at the Monday invasion quoted him as brandishing the royal endorsement like a sledgehammer, daring anyone to challenge his authority while claiming that Oba Ladoja is his father and nobody can touch him in Ibadan, leaving many to wonder whether the revered first-class monarch is aware of the manner in which his name is being invoked to intimidate hardworking investors.

The irony is painfully stark because only weeks ago, Igboho was singing a different tune entirely, pleading with the Olubadan, Ooni of Ife, and Olugbon of Orile Igbon to secure his freedom from the presidency, expressing gratitude for their intervention, and promising to be a force for good upon his return. Yet, today he appears to have become the very insecurity he once condemned with his targets shifted from alleged criminal elements to law-abiding real estate developers creating jobs and building communities.

But the real estate sector is not taking this lying down as the company at the centre of Monday’s invasion has fired the first salvo in what promises to be a legal war, engaging the prestigious Afe Babalola law firm to seek urgent redress in court while their petition, which also heads to the Inspector General of Police, Oyo State Governor, National Assembly, and even the President’s office, alleges grave threats to life and demands that Igboho be restrained from further disruptions.

Legal experts confirm that the move signals a no-nonsense approach with the company insisting that business cannot be held hostage by anyone regardless of their political connections or previous notoriety. While some dismiss Igboho’s resurgence as mere grandstanding, others recall his shady antecedents, the thuggery, the terror, the bloody raid on his Ibadan home in 2021 that left three aides dead, and his dramatic flight into exile, making his threats impossible to ignore.

Community leaders and concerned citizens are now calling on Oba Ladoja to publicly disown whatever Igboho is doing in his name because the Olubadan is a respected institution and not a shield for intimidation, with one business owner fuming that if Igboho truly respects the monarch, he should stop dragging his revered stool into this mess.

With petitions mounting and the legal machinery grinding into action, the big question remains whether Sunday Igboho is testing the waters or this is the beginning of another dark chapter in Ibadan’s real estate landscape, and for now developers are watching their backs, workers are looking over their shoulders, and the ancient city holds its breath waiting to see whether the law will catch up with a man who once fled Nigeria under a hail of bullets only to return and allegedly unleash fresh hell on the very people trying to build it.

(more…)

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