Landlords, majority of whom are retirees, have called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State to rescue them from suspected land grabbers, who allegedly demolished their houses at Wood Island Estate, in the Ishawo area of Ikorodu, Lagos.
They also called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and Military authorities to call their personnel to order, alleging that the suspected land grabbers used law enforcement agents to intimidate and harass them.
They lamented that they had been living in peace in the community for two decades and more, until last September, when they were chased out by some persons who claimed to be owners of the land. The height of intimidation according to them was when their houses were demolished without prior notice, thereby leaving them in the cold.
One of the affected retirees, Sanni Gerard, said: ‘I bought my land in 2014. I was told to pay some amount before I could access it because it was still under construction. But after payment, I discovered it was demolished alongside several others. I was building it with my gratuity’.
Chairman of the Community Development Association (CDA) in the area, Adekunle Adeiga, who visited the demolished scene, told journalists, ‘We are here because of the property destroyed at Wood Island. In September last year, we heard people were coming into the community, claiming they were the new owners. They told us at a meeting held to iron out the issues, that they were reclaiming their father’s property.
‘Later, I noticed that people started complaining that their buildings were being destroyed at Wood Island. I called the chairman representing Wood Island, but all of them denied that. I don’t know how they did it, but about 50 and 70 houses including uncompleted ones were demolished.
‘The reason they gave was that they got an injunction granting them ownership of the land. But when they were requested to bring the court papers to that effect, at a meeting in Oke Oko, they could not present any. Rather, they said their lawyer would provide it, but the lawyer told us that he was not in possession of any paper. He told us two weeks ago at the meeting that they were not with judgment but that they believed they would win the case’.
On his part, Mr. Eniran Orisan, Coordinator of the Arugbo Odo/Aboki Lawal family, who sold the land to the affected house owners, said he was not aware of any court order against his family. He explained that the Arugbo Odo/Aboki Lawal were adjudged the rightful owners of the entire Owutu land in 1904 by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
While commending Police authorities in Abuja for the intervention so far, which according to him, led to the arrest of two persons, he appealed to the IGP Kayode Egbetokun to institute an investigative team to arrest the perpetrators of the demolition, noting that an alleged perpetrator was boasting of being untouchable, claiming he had the Police in his pocket.
