Demolition: Lagos Community Seeks Sanwo-Olu’s Intervention

Oluchi Chibuzor

The Indegenes of Oluwa community in Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos State has called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to intervene in the Lagos State Building Control Agency’s(LASBCA) move to demolish their houses.

This, according to them, becomes necessary in view of the recent demolition of properties and shops even when they were granted certificates of warrant of possession by a competent court.

Speaking recently in Lagos on behalf of the community, Ademola Olowoyeye, who also serves as the community lawyer, recounted the demolition of several properties and shops of the local people on September 1, 2022.

He accused policemen of the Lagos State Environment and Special Offences Enforcement Unit and hoodlums of rendering them homeless at this difficulty time in the country.

He called on the State Governor and Attorney-General to insist that the judgment of the court is fully obeyed and henceforth ensure that all Lagos State Government (LASG) agencies and ministry should stop destroying people’s property in the community.

He said, “If you go round the village you will see how much destruction a government establishment purportedly brought upon its citizens just because they went to court and claimed a right.”

According to him, “An ugly incident happened at this Oluwa village on the 1st of September, 2022. We want to inform the public that we are in a very bad state. We commenced an action against the Lagos state government represented by the attorney general and against those occupying our land in 2009 and on the 16th of February, 2018, judgment was granted affirming the ownership of the land to the Oluwa family.

“As the law requires us, we took steps to enforce the judgment with the recovery of our land from those who are occupying it on 30th November, 2018 and here we are in 2022 still trying to maintain ownership and possession of our property. Immediately after the enforcement of the judgment, the first reaction that we got from the LASG came from the Permanent Secretary Lands Bureau. He ordered the Registrar of title not to allow any search to be conducted on the title that was registered on the judgment of the court. He also directed the ministry of physical planning not to accept any application for building permits including even making fences. Several applications are lying there at the LASBCA office that they refuse to treat since 2018.”

The Baale of Oluwa community, Adewale Oluwa, said, “my people are suffering as a lot of them have seen their hard earned properties demolished unnecessarily. About 50 houses and a hotel have been demolished. We want peace and that was why we did not confront those that came to perpetrate this crime. The officials of the LASBCA along with police officers destroyed my people’s shops and houses.”

Narrating his ordeal, while expressing shock after witnessing the demolition of his property worth millions of naira, Monday Ajamobe, said “I was in the hospital trying to stabilize my health when I was told that my house had been destroyed. My rent will expire this month and we were planning to move into our house early next month after selling all I have to build.

“Before I built, people from the New Town Development Authority told me that there was a court judgment on the land that made us buy and start building.”

A villager, Olaide Awal, claimed that the LASBCA officials only gave them five days notice to evacuate, adding “we have been rendered homeless and helpless with our house destroyed completely. Where do we go with our children?”

However, Lagos State Government has faulted their claim, noting that those who occupy the land don’t have building permits to claim ownership.

Speaking on the issue, the spokesperson for the taskforce, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, said the claims of the protesters were untrue.

He said, “We were at Abijo to give an executive back up to the land grabbers’ commission and not to demolish houses. This was contained in our press release.”