Posted by By Bayo Adetu, Eromosele Ebhomele & Tunde Lemuel on
Over a hundred families have been rendered homeless, while the hope of others becoming landlords have been dashed, following the demolition of buildings worth several billions of naira, at Denro/Ishasi Road, a suburb of Ogun state, yesterday.
Over a hundred families have been rendered homeless, while the hope of others becoming landlords have been dashed, following the demolition of buildings worth several billions of naira, at Denro/Ishasi Road, a suburb of Ogun state, yesterday.
The demolition exercise, which started around 8 a.m., on Sunday, was aided by more than 50 fully armed mobile policemen. Sources at the venue of the demolition told P.M.News that the vast landed property has been a subject of controversy for several months.
According to the sources, both the Federal Government and the Ogun state government claimed ownership of the property, with the latter issuing a certificate of ownership (C of O) to occupants of the land.
However, two months ago, the Federal Government was said to have issued notices to the occupants to quit the property. This led to the establishment of Heritage Estate Landlords Association by the house owners, who took the government to court.
P.M.News learnt that a Federal High Court, sitting in Abeokuta, had adjourned the case till today, but an estate agent who claimed he acquired the land from the Federal Government since 1999, was said to have mobilized policemen and some thugs for the demolition of the buildings, yesterday.
Secretary to the landlords' association, Barr. Olawale Shado, who spoke with P.M.News, said he was in the church and did not know of the incident until after the church service.
The lawyer, who was seen picking his belongings from his demolished building, said: 'There was controversy over the land all along. The Federal Government laid claim to the land, but we went and charted this place, then realized that it belonged to the Ogun state government.
'This is a clear case of contempt of court. Nobody knew that they would come today to demolish our houses,' he stated. P.M.News gathered that a land speculator in the area, Alhaji Balogun Ishau, who claimed ownership of the land, sold the lands to majority of the occupants who were ignorant of the controversy surrounding it. He was said to have removed the signpost erected by the Federal Government, banning people from encroaching on the land.
However, Alhaji Ishau, who is also the chairman of the landlords' association, told P.M.News that the developer, who mobilized for the demolition exercise, claimed he was mandated to build a lowcost housing estate in the area.
Alhaji Ishau said more harm would have been done if some concerned inhabitants of the area, including Mr. Odunayo Akinlade, a staff of the National Assembly, had not intervened. 'We asked them to show us the demolition order from the court but they had none. It was then they abandoned the exercise and went away,'' Akinlade stated. Among the buildings demolished were a three-bedroom bungalow and two one-storey buildings, containing four three-bedroom flats each.