The Lekki Estates Residents and Stakeholders Association, the umbrella body of residents associations of over 77 gated estates from 1004 Estate area down to Epe, has added its voice to the clamour of residents and property owners in Lekki, Lagos urging the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria to act responsibly and uphold the tenets of justice and equity in its overall conduct.
In a press statement signed by Olorogun James O. Emadoye and Gbemi Adelekan, President and Secretary respectively, LERSA condemned the inhuman treatment of homeowners, who are still being thrown out of their homes in Victory Park Estate and Goshen Beach Estate and other Estates in Lekki by AMCON with the use of heavily armed policemen and a group of fiercely looking unidentified armed men.
According to the statement, several families have been forced out of their homes with mothers and children left out in the heavy down pour of rain with little or no notice at mid-day when most residents were out for work.
It also urged AMCON to recognize the property of home and land owners in VictoryPark, Goshen Beach Estates and other developments in Lekki, who purchased their properties without any encumbrances known to law titles, and to stop inflicting unnecessary heartache and hardship on the innocent owners and residents.
LERSA reiterated the fact that residents and property owners in the affected Estates bought into gated Estate Schemes like most estate development Schemes in the Lekki axis of Lagos State.
“These properties are widely publicized, and in the case of GOSHEN Beach Estate, the sale was a joint venture between the developer and Lagos State Development and Property Corporation thus giving comfort and confidence to would be subscribers/buyers that they are credible and the titles are free from any encumbrance. It is appalling and devastating to buy into a stage government sanctioned transaction, only to have homes and life sustaining facilities like sewage treatment, borehole and recreation area forcibly sealed up almost twenty years after purchase.
“In view of the current circumstances of some of our Estates with AMCON, it is the opinion of LERSA that the right and equitable thing for AMCON, which, is a government agency to do, is to go after the assets of developers, who are the loan defaulters and not prey on soft targets that are innocent citizens, who are bonafide purchasers for value, without notice of any encumbrances known to law.
“The enabling law establishing AMCON stipulates that AMCON Receiver Managers shall take over receivership of properties of judgement debtors subject to existing encumbrances.”
It would be recalled that residents and property owners of Victory Park Estate and Goshen Beach Estate who bought their lands and built their homes in the Estates, have suddenly become soft targets of AMCON for the recovery of bad debts.
The affected residents and property owners, who are members of LERSA are the owners of their properties and have duly paid for by them and therefore have no relationship whatsoever with AMCON.
The statement noted that any banker who accept common estate facilities such as waterworks, road network, general service infrastructure and so on as collateral for loan will need to re-examine his/her qualifications as a banker.
The statement further described as shocking the current situation whereby AMCON has appointed a receiver for properties, which has been bought and paid for, by individual Nigeria citizens rather than go after the judgement debtor.
LERSA described as appalling the fact that AMCON only came after innocent citizens, as soft targets, after the demise of the developer, who is their banks’ customer.
It noted that its members within the affected Estates properly acquired and paid for fully for their properties without any caveat and or encumbrances.
It decried the use of brute force with the help of unidentified armed men to invade, intimidate and force out law abiding citizens from their homes by any government agency, insisting that such despicable conduct should be strongly condemned and not be allowed to thrive in our democracy.
LERSA therefore called on President Mohammadu Buhari, the Vice President Prof.Yemi Osinbajo, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, the Chairman of AMCON Mr. Muiz Banire and the Managing Director of AMCON, Lawan Kuru to intervene in the matters of Victory Park Estate, Goshen Estate and any other Estates in Lekki and ensure that innocent Nigerians are not deprived of their homes and properties.
