BY ROTIMI DUROJAIYE AND BRIGHT JACOB
The gates of phase two, Magodo estate in Lagos were reopened penultimate Wednesday following a siege laid by police officers in a move to demolish some houses in the area.
Some police officers, accompanied by hoodlums, arrived at the estate with bulldozers on Tuesday, December 21, 2021.
The hoodlums marked some houses in the estate with the inscription which reads ‘ID/795/88 possession taken today 21/12/2021 by court order’.
On the morning of December 22, members of the Magodo Residents’ Association locked up the gates leading to the exit and entry points of the estate in a bid to resist what they described as “forceful takeover” and attempt to demolish houses in the area.
The development left some residents stranded as no human or vehicular movement was allowed in and out of the estate.
However, on penultimate Wednesday afternoon, the two gates of the estate were opened with people and vehicles moving freely.
There were also no police officers seen around the gates of the estate.
Speaking with journalists, Tunji Abdulhameed, legal adviser of MRA, said residents of the estate were not aware of any court verdict issued in favour of the Shangisha Landlords Association to demolish houses in the community.
Abdulhameed said the only court verdict residents are aware of is to the effect that the Lagos government should allocate 549 plots of land to the Shangisha association.
“We are not aware of any court order which allows for any demolition of properties in this estate. We asked them to show us papers, but they refused to show us the paper,” he said.
“We are aware that they obtained an order against the Lagos state government, the judgement which people believe is fake as no specific definition and no properties were mentioned.
“What the judgement said is that the Lagos state government should allocate 549 plots to them. As at today, no plot has been allocated. Until the plots are allocated to them, that is when they become property owners.
“All the properties you see here, those who own the properties obtained allocations from the Lagos State government and they obtained certificates of occupancy to that effect. And those certificates are still valid; they have not been revoked.
“That is what we are trying to put across. We want the world to see what we are facing because the government has not come to protect us.
“Thankfully, they later came today — people from the governor. I think they are still around to ensure that the police that came from FCT through the IGP are out of the state. That is why the gates are open.”
Also, Bajo Osinubi, chairman of MRA, said they decided to open the estate’s gates owing to the promise made by Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos State that the state is “on top of the case”.
“We opened the gate about an hour ago because we had a promise from the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, that he is on top of the case,” Osinubi said.
The Chairman, Board of Trustee, MRA, Ayodele Ogunye, said residents in the estate had constantly been subjected to different forms of land grabber attacks, adding that the state government should intervene to restore normalcy in the estate.
He said, “I have been living here since 1992 but we have been having problems with land grabbers until this case became enlarged. It is true that the Supreme Court had given judgement in the favour of the Adeyiga Family; they are to be giving 549 plots but that judgement did not say 549 plots in Magodo.
“Hence, the Lagos State Government allocated plots of land to them along Badagry and Ibeju Lekki. So far, about 300 of them have agreed to take those plots and these people continue to harass us. I have been to Alagbon three times this year on this issue.”
According to the chairman, Shangisha Landlord Association, Adebayo Adeyiga, the crisis over parcels of land in Magodo Phase 2 estate started in 1984 through 1986, when the state government “forcefully took” parcels of land belonging to the association.
Adeyiga said the lands were taken under disguise with “claims that they will be used for the construction of an international standard hospital.”
“We the landlords were forcefully evicted from the land in dispute. The government went ahead to pull down all our houses, and took the entire area which was not what they had asked for in the first place.
“After pulling down of our houses, we were embarrassed to find out that the Lagos state government had converted the land for their personal interest, allotting the said land in plots to their friends and cronies, and some of high and mighty people in the society including some judges in the Lagos judiciary and members of the former state executives,” Adeyiga said.
He added that the association approached the Lagos State government, “armed with facts of the fraudulent allotment,” and it was resolved that members would be given plots of land from the then new scheme known as Magodo scheme 2.
“It was when they failed to do so, that we were forced to sue the Lagos State government through the executive officers sometime in June 1988 in suit ID/795/88. Chief Adebayo Adeyiga and six (6) others versus the military governor of Lagos State and four(4) others in Lagos State high court, Ikeja.
“While the case was going on, the Lagos State government refused or neglected to obey the court order to maintain status quo, rather they and their cronies intensified construction activities.
This forced us to apply for an interlocutory injunction which was granted by the late Justice A. L. Balogun on October 19, 1992.
“By this ruling of the courts, it was expected that the Lagos State government and the Association would respect the court of land and refrain from allotting or further development on the land, pending the determination of the substantive suit, but they refused,” he said.
The chairman said on May 17, 1993, the then governor of Lagos State, Michael Otedola, gave an executive order for the release of the land to its owner, but this was not complied with by officials.
He said succour came when the trial court, in 1993, gave a mandatory injunction order for the state to allocate 549 plots on the land in dispute to the association.
However, the Lagos state government appealed the judgement in 1994.
Adeyiga alleged that state officials attempted to eliminate him by sending thugs, who beat him with his wife, wounded and threw him down from his one-story building.
He said the action cost him permanent disability and complete damage to his eyes, adding that other members of the association were attacked.
The state government lost the appeal in the matter, as the appellate court upheld the judgement of the lower court against the state.
Dissatisfied with judgement at the appeal court, the Lagos state government took the matter to the Supreme Court, where the court also affirmed the judgement of the lower courts on February 10, 2012.
Following the judgement of the Supreme Court, Adeyiga said their lawyer wrote the former Chief Judge of Lagos State, Ayotunde Phillips, on the need to sign the writ of possession to enable them execute the judgement but she refused.
“We had no choice but to petition the former Chief Justice of Nigeria and chairman of the National Judicial Council, Chief Justice Honourable Mariam Aloma Mukhtar who queried Justice Phillips concerning the matter. Surprisingly, Honourable Justice Ayotunde Phillips refused to answer the query until she retired in 2014,” he said.
“I have been living here since 1992 but we have been having problems with land grabbers until this case became enlarged. It is true that the Supreme Court had given judgement in the favour of the Adeyiga Family; they are to be giving 549 plots but that judgement did not say 549 plots in Magodo”
Adeyiga said another letter was written to the Chief Judge of Lagos state, Olufunmilayo Atilade, who also refused to discharge her responsibility in the enforcement of the judgement.
“Based on all the above facts, we humbly stated that we have by all means done and exhausted what is expected of law-abiding citizens of the nation by following due process in this matter but the government of Lagos state has not deemed it necessary to obey court orders.
“On March 1, 2016, the Supreme Court sitting on the matter again voiced its displeasure over the failure of the Lagos state government and the Chief Justice of Lagos State to execute its judgement. The Lagos State Attorney General, Adeniji Kassim was specifically warned of the dangers of refusing to carry out the order of the Supreme Court,” he said.
He said Mrs. Atilade was ordered to sign the writ of possession for the recovery of 549 plots of land in Magodo scheme II area within a specified period and she signed on March 16, 2017.
“The process of execution of the writ had been completed by the Court Sheriff as shown in the correspondence between the Deputy Sheriff and the Police (AIG Zone 2 office) on the request for police assistance. Thereafter the writ was assigned by the Deputy Sheriff to the Sheriff’s for execution.”
Adeyiga said a date was fixed by all parties involved for the execution, only for the writ to be withdrawn by one Mr. Ojo of the Execution Department on the instructions of Mrs. Atilade.
The chairman said they wrote another petition to the NJC on how Mrs. Atilade and the state attorney-general, Kassim, were frustrating the process of execution of the writ.
“Our fears were later confirmed when a ruling to set aside the execution of the writ was given by Honourable Justice R. Adebiyi even though the association was not served with any process on the case.
“The Association forwarded another petition to the NJC against the Justice Raliatu Adebiyi for setting aside the writ of possession which was sign by the retired Honourable justice Olufunmilayo Atilade on the directive of the NJC and which had been assigned by the Sheriff for execution.”
Adeyiga said after the tussle which lasted for over 37 years, the association resolved to execute the Supreme Court’s judgement which is the final court.
In its reaction on December 23, the Lagos State government described the Magodo invasion as unwarranted and vowed to prosecute the culprits
The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo, said that unknown bailiffs carried out the execution that threw landlords and residents into confusion in the Magodo Phase 2 Estate.
Onigbanjo, in a statement, described the invasion as unwarranted and illegal, adding that those found culpable would be prosecuted.
The statement reads in part, “It is a known fact that judgement was delivered in 2012 by the Supreme Court in Military Governor of Lagos State & Ors. Vs. Adebayo Adeyiga & Ors in Appeal No: SC/112/2002 wherein the apex court affirmed the judgement of Court of Appeal and High Court delivered on December 31, 1993, in Suit No: ID/795/88 wherein the court held as follows:
“I hereby enter judgement for the plaintiffs against the defendants as follows – a declaration that members of the Shangisha Landlords Association whose lands and or buildings at Shangisha village were demolished by the Lagos State Government and/or its servants or agents during the period of June 1984 to May 1985 are entitled to the first choice preferential treatment by the Lagos State Government before any other person(s) in the allocation or re-allocation of plots in Shangisha village.
“And I make the order against the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants (particularly the Lagos State Government and Land Use and Allocation Committee) as agreed in the meeting held on October 16, 1984 with the Ministry of Lands and Housing and Development Matters, Lagos State.
“An order of Mandatory Injunction is hereby made that the said defendants shall forthwith allocate 549 plots to the plaintiffs in the said Shangisha village scheme in the Shangisha village aforesaid.”
Onigbanjo said it was obvious that the judgement only recognised the judgement creditors as being entitled to first choice preferential treatment in the allocation and or re-allocation of plots in Shangisha Village, adding that the judgement only related to allocation of 549 plots of land and not possession of any land.
The Attorney General said the state government engaged the judgement creditors between 2012 and 2015 and made a proposal to re-allocate land to them at Magotho Residential Scheme within Badagry area, adding that the move was rejected by Chief Adebayo Adeyiga.
He, however, noted that majority of the judgment creditors led by Yemi Ogunshola, Jelili Yaya and Adeleke Adefala, accepted the offer.
“Due to division within the judgement creditors, another round of settlement was initiated in 2016 which culminated in the proposal to re-allocate the judgement creditors to Ibeju Lekki Coastal Scheme situated at Ibeju/Lekki, which was also rejected by Chief Adebayo Adeyiga.
“Subsequent to the rejection, the state government has been in dialogue with the majority of the judgement creditors from 2019 with a view to reaching a concession towards implementing the judgement,” Onigbanjo added.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria explained that a pending application for interlocutory injunction dated December 1, 2020, before the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/L/1005A/2018 sought an order restraining Adeyiga and others, including their agents, servants privies or howsoever called, particularly the police, from entering into, giving direction, taking possession or in any manner disturbing the quiet enjoyment of property owners in Magodo Residential Area Scheme.
He added, “The Lagos State Government has equally observed that the execution was carried out by unknown bailiffs as the Sheriff of the High Court of Lagos where the judgement emanated was not responsible for the purported execution carried out on December 21, 2021 at Magodo.”
Stating that the Supreme Court judgement was not affixed to any land anywhere and that it only declared that the judgement creditors were entitled to allocation of land from the state government, Onigbanjo said the state government was dismayed by Adeyiga’s action.
He noted that Adeyiga misled the police in attempting execution of the judgement notwithstanding the pending appeal against the issuance of warrant of possession by the then Chief Judge of Lagos State on March 16, 2017.
While urging the public, especially residents of Magodo Residential Area to remain calm, Onigbanjo noted that “investigation into the unwarranted incident is being carried out with a view to prosecuting any person found culpable. The Lagos State Government has the high regard for the rule of law and will protect the interests of all parties.”
