Lagos Community Approaches Court over Land Encroachment

Wale Igbintade

Aggrieved landlords at Ogudu Muslim Community Praying Ground, Oworonsoki area of Lagos have approached a Lagos High Court over alleged forceful encroachment on their praying ground by a suspected land grabber.

In two separate suits, marked ID/1722LMW/2022 and ID/1724LMW/2022 filed before Justice Gbadebo Oshoala and Justice A.M Lawal, at the Ikeja Division of the State High Court, the aggrieved landlords are praying the court for a declaration that by virtue of their Certificate of Occupancy and Deed of Assignment they were the rightful owner of the land.

Claimants in the suit are Prince Wale Alaba Oyekoya, Mrs. Pauline Wandoo NSA, and Ms. Oreoluwa Edowaye Obasuyi

The claimants in their originating summons dated April 6, 2022, prayed the court for a declaration that Ajibola Bisiriyu and some thugs are in trespass on their parcel of lands

They also want an order of the Court directing Ajibola Bisiriyu to reconstruct or re-erect the perimeter fence around the parcel of land, which was allegedly destroyed by some thugs.

The aggrieved landlords are asking for N200m as damages against Ajibola Bisiriyu being the cost of the tons of iron rods, sand and Granite carted away by his thugs as well as the cost of reconstructing the perimeter fence destroyed by the Defendants at their invasion in April 2021 and in March 2022.

They are demanding for additional N100m for the psychological torture they were subjected to as well as the trauma the invasion cost them.

The claimants alleged that the defendant invaded the land sometime in April 2021, with Policemen assigned to the Lagos State Taskforce alongside thugs, claiming that the state government allocated the land to him for estate development.

According to the Affidavit in support deposed to by the aggrieved Landlords, they alleged that in the course of the invasion, the thugs destroyed their perimeter fence and carted away tons of iron rods, sand, granite, and same are been used as materials for the ongoing construction on the land and that they also demolished the existing uncompleted buildings on their land”

In seeking redress, the aggrieved landlords stated that they approached the Lagos State Special Task Force on Land Grabber unit of the Ministry of Justice and wrote a petition to the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police.

They stated that all efforts by the two authorities to make Ajibola Bisiriyu appeared before them to substantiate his claims proved abortive as Bisiriyu refused to appear before them.

Subsequently, the aggrieved landlords approached a Lagos State High Court to get a restraining order against the defendant.