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Lagos landlord lament unlawful demolition of 400 houses, Ibeju-Lekki
By Modupe Shodeinde
Aggrieved landlords on Friday, protested at State House of Assembly against the unlawful demolition of over 400 houses in the Oke-Egan Community, Kayetoro, Eleko, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State.
The displaced landlords explained that some government officials led by task force operatives, had on Monday, around 3:00am, demolished the buildings with bulldozers.
Displaying placards with the inscriptions, ‘We have been demoralised, nowhere to go,’ ‘We want back our properties,’ ‘Our government has made its citizens helpless,’ ‘We want our land back,’ ‘We are low-income people made homeless,’ ‘Our children are crying,’ among others, the protesters demanded for compensation for the traumatic incident.
Punch Newspaper, reports that one of the landlords, who led the protesters, Mr Etim Odiase, said the residents had through their lawyer reported at the Office of the Surveyor General of the state last Friday when they learnt of the demolition plan, noting that they were shocked their houses were demolished without being served any notice.
He said, “Our lawyer was told that there was nothing like that. But around 3am on Monday, some officials in the company with task force policemen brought bulldozers and demolished about 400 houses. We were never told that the land had been acquired by the state government. Some of us from the community were told that the land was not under government acquisition.
“We want to know the reason the houses were demolished. We don’t know what is going on. We were never served any notice. Most of us are now on the streets and in hotels. We spent millions of naira on the houses; some of us have been living there for over 10 years. We just want to hear from the government the reason the houses were demolished. We want compensation from the government. We want the community back.”
Another affected landlord, Damilare James, said enquiries were made from the office of the Surveyor General about the land and assured it had not been committed to any public use and could be regularised.
He alleged that they contributed N6m and gave the officials sent to them, adding that they were assured there was no problem.
The residents of the community lamented that the officials came in the night and rendered them homeless.
They demanded for compensation from the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-olu.
Pastor Abiodun Ajayi, a landlord was quoted saying, “They didn’t need the land for any industry; they said it is meant for a housing scheme. It is painful that we are citizens, and voted for them yet we were treated like this. Over 400 houses were demolished.
“They should listen to us. With the #EndSARS protest and COVID-19, people lost their jobs. Now, a lot of people have been displaced.”
The Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, represented by a member representing Ajeromi/Ifelodun Constituency I, Lukman Olumo, addressed the protesters and appealed for calm, adding that the House would address their grievances.
He said, “The House of Assembly is your House and you voted us to protect your interest and you can rest assured that your interest will be protected. Nobody in Lagos can treat the people of the state unlawfully on their property.
“You can have the best of assurances that this matter will be looked into critically by the House. I can assure you that very soon, you will get a favourable response. Let us be law-abiding; we should not take the law into our own hands.”
