Fear as monarch begins demolition in Lagos communities
Fear and panic swept through the Bello, Kusumi Lane, and Onakoya communities in Ketu, Lagos State, on Monday and Tuesday as bulldozers and caterpillars rumbled into the areas, reducing homes to rubble allegedly without warning.
Terrified tenants and landlords told our correspondent, who visited the communities on Tuesday, that they witnessed heavily armed policemen, fierce-looking thugs, and suspected land grabbers enforcing the demolition.
Several distraught tenants alleged that the Onikosi of Ikosi, Alamu Onikosi, orchestrated the demolition based on a court order he purportedly obtained from an Ikeja court.
While landlords and tenants insisted they received no prior notice before the monarch forcefully began the exercise on Monday, other victims questioned why no one in the community had been aware of any court proceedings before the order was issued.
When our correspondent visited the monarch’s palace at Ikosi-Ketu on Tuesday, a policeman, identifying himself as part of the monarch’s security team, blocked entry.
Upon learning that the visit was regarding the ongoing demolitions in the three communities, the officer insisted that the operation was legal, citing a court order authorising the exercise.
“The monarch is not around. The landlords have also come here this morning.”
“There’s nothing illegal about what is happening. The communities are aware of the court case. The court order will explain the exercise to you,” he said.
Meanwhile, the said court order obtained by PUNCH Metro on Tuesday revealed that the ruling was issued by Hon. Justice M.A. Savage-Judge of Court 24 (Land Matter Division), Ikeja, on November 8, 2023.
The order also revealed that the case involved Alamu Onikosi and Iyabo Onikosi as the claimants, while Olutunde Amole and others, referred to as “unknown persons,” were listed as defendants in suit number ID/328/2003.
The ruling, which is “predicated on motion ex parte”, dated July 3, 2023, on behalf of the Onikosi family, granted the claimants to “remove all nuisances created on the land adjudged to belong to the claimants/applicants and to demolish all the structures unlawfully erected upon all the land known as Bello Street, Ikosi-Ketu, covered by survey plan No. LAA/0327/2012/D010/LA, made on the 30th day of January 2017.
“An order granting leave to renew the order directing the deputy sheriff to demolish and remove all illegal structures from the land adjudged to belong to the claimants/applicants made on the 30th day of January 2017.
“An order granting leave to renew the order directing police formations to provide security for the deputy sheriff in carrying out the above order.
“An order permitting the judgement creditors/applicant to remove all nuisances created on the land adjudged to belong to the claimants/applicants and to demolish all the structures unlawfully erected upon all the land known as Bello Street, Ikosi-Ketu, are covered by survey plan number LAA/O327/2012/D010/LA, made by L. A. Animashaun, licensed surveyor.”
In an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday, a tenant identified only as Okoro lamented, “I was coming back from work when I saw half of the house reduced to rubble. At first, I thought a driver had lost control and crashed into it.
“All my property is still inside the house. I just paid rent for the apartment on December 30, 2024. I have also tiled and furnished the apartment. This is what I saw all of a sudden. The landlord is as shocked as I am. There was no notification whatsoever.”
An elderly landlady, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution, shared that she had owned the building “for over 40 years. I ran and fell while looking for whom to speak with.
“They told me I should send my tenants out of the house. This is something that didn’t even happen during the military regime. You can’t just show up at people’s property and tell them to leave,” she criticised the exercise.
A female tenant identified only as Bisi said, “Some tenants and landlords would have collapsed after seeing the caterpillar and policemen today (Tuesday) after yesterday’s incident.”
A distressed property owner, known as Mr Alabi, whose fence had been torn down when our correspondent visited Bello Street, stated, “I saw officers from the Nigeria Police Force with a Black Maria in the area. They didn’t present any official documents to anyone beforehand.
“They simply instructed us to inform our tenants to leave the properties. If this is indeed the case, shouldn’t people have been informed about the alleged court order before it was enforced?”
By the time our correspondent left the area around 2:00 pm on Tuesday, a bulldozer and at least seven heavily armed policemen were stationed in one of the communities, where residents were desperately hoping for a miracle.
