Special Features
INVESTIGATION: Controversy Trails Property Tussle Between Lagos Developers; Hakeem Olawuyi & Sikiru Nollah
By Philip Ibitoye
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On Friday, March 1, 2023, a property on Church Street, Lagos Island, was demolished in controversial circumstances.
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Two developers had been in a tussle over control of the property.
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Both parties tell Eko Hot Blog they are in court to resolve the issue.
Eko Hot Blog reports that confusion and controversy have continued to trail the demolition of a property at No 20A, Church street, Idumota Area in Lagos Island, Lagos State, two weeks after it was brought down in controversial circumstances.
A Lagos-based reporter, Fashina Shakiru, reported on the development first.
EDITOR’S PICKS
Our reporter gathered that a popular socialite on Lagos Island, Mr. Sikiru Nollah, who claims control of the property, demolished the building to redevelop it.
However, the Managing Director of Dapo Ola Investment Limited, Mr Hakeem Olawuyi, aka, Dapo Ola Developer, claimed that the building was handed over to him by the family branch with authority to reconstruct it.
Mr Olawuyi estimated the value of the property to be around N800 million, but Mr Nollah laughed off the figure during an interview with Eko Hot Blog via telephone. He said the property he demolished could not have been worth more than N100 million amidst sarcastic laughter.
Both parties told Eko Hot Blog that they have documents supporting their claims to the property, adding that they have approached the Lagos High Court to resolve the impasse.
Parts of the demolished building
OCCUPANTS AND NOLLAH DISAGREE OVER NOTIFICATION OF DEMOLITION
Hoodlums with dangerous weapons, facilitated by Mr Nollah, allegedly stormed the property on Church Street, Idumota Area, on Friday, March 31, 2023, and Saturday, April 1, 2023, to demolish the four-storey building.
The property tussle between Lagos developers; Hakeem Olawuyi and Sikiru Nollah reached its height on March 31, 2023, when the latter brought people to demolish the disputed building. The parties have taken the matter to court. pic.twitter.com/KauBOSj5je
— EkoHotBlog (@ekohotblog) April 18, 2023
Mr. Olawuyi bemoaned the demolition exercise, noting that it came after the police asked both parties not to take action on the property.
Parts of the demolished building
Mr Nollah, however, dismissed this account, telling Eko Hot Blog that the police did not stop him from taking action. He said the police instead dismissed Mr Olawuyi’s complaints after finding out that he was on shaky legal grounds.
Occupants of the building, which housed 50 apartment rooms, shops, and stores, amongst others, accused Mr. Olawuyi of not giving them any notice before demolishing the building.
“I have a shop where I sell goods, and even store them. On Saturday morning, I was at home when I received a call that Sikiru Nollah and his thugs have started demolishing the building,” a tenant said.
“I rushed to my shop and started moving my goods, which they refused. I had to pay the hoodlums N5000, and with my influence in the area, my goods were removed. Some of my goods were destroyed. And the impact of this demolition is terrible on my family, as my wife just gave birth.
“I don’t know what caused the demolition. However, I know who I paid my rent to in almost ten years I have stayed here. And it’s Alhaji Hakeem Olawuyi of Dapo Ola Developers.
“He is the one everyone pay to his account and rightful Lessor and Developer to the property. This demolition has mentally stressed me. I pray the matter is resolved soon.”
Mr Sikiru Nollah
However, Mr Nollah rejected the tenant’s account, saying he sent multiple notices of demolition to the occupants. He said they were given a six-month quit notice.
“The tenants in question… we have the documents. We gave them six months,” he said. When our reporter interjected that the occupants said they did not get the notice, he responded that “they were just lying to you.”
“The developer (Mr. Olawuyi) that is on the property before has taken money from the tenants till 2029. That is why they were trying to cover up for him. They are just looking for ways to get their money back.
“We served them [notices]. I invited them to my office. We served them six months. We served them one month before the demolition,” Mr Nollah said, motioning someone near him to bring him documents that support his claims.
Parts of the demolished building
Although Eko Hot Blog could not see the documents in question, he read out the content to our reporter on the phone, emphasising his earlier claims that occupants of the demolished building were properly notified.
He said one of the letters, dated December 1, 2022, invited the tenants to his office on December 2, 2022, to speak about the impending demolition of the property. He read out another letter dated February 28, 2023, which granted occupants of the building an extra one month to quit the premises, with his lawyer informing them he is the new property developer.
Parts of the demolished building
BACKGROUND
The demolished property belonged to the Kumeifo Oba Olaribigbe family. Eko Hot Blog gathered that the family has two branches, and both are laying claims to the ownership of the building.
Documents show that on August 2, 2010, the property was initially leased to Olawuyi’s Dapo Ola Investment Limited by Mr. Ajileye Ismail Bello and Mr. Dada Owokunle Monsuru.
The duo was assigned as “Vendors” of the property for Kumeifo Oba Olaribigbe family, with seven children as the owners of the property at No 20A, Church Street, Idumota Lagos Island.
According to the documents Eko Hot Blog sighted, the property lease to Olawuyi was expected to expire on October 2016.
Mr Olawuyi, the Lessor, said he paid five million naira due to unexpired residue interest for five years.
“After the payment, I realised that they have collected five years of rent beyond the lease period on the property,” he said.
“Meanwhile, a quit notice was served for the renovation of the building but tenants of the building challenged me. The matter was later resolved along with the tenants and family.”
Thereafter, a new agreement was made on April 23, 2017, where the family leased the premises to Dapo Ola Investment Limited for renovation for a term of ten years till 2027.
The new agreement reads: “The owners herein before mentioned as owners are the children of beneficiary Kumeifo Oba Olaribigbe (Deceased) who are now the owners by virtues of inheritance have approached Dapo Ola investment limited, the Developer to enter, demolish, build, and construct the property into a three (3) storey befitting and modern structure at the developer’s expense.”
Parts of the demolished building
Mr Nollah, however, refused to share documents that grant him control over the property. When Eko Hot Blog asked him to provide proof that the property was leased to him, he said he would provide that to the court.
“I don’t need to share documents with anybody because the court is the best thing we have in the whole world. I have all the documents. I have documents that those people that came to you have signed that the branch that leased the property to me is the owner of the property.
“I have the documents here. If I want to surprise you now, I’ll just show you. You will be shocked,” he told our reporter, saying Mr. Olawuyi and Mr Tiamiyu gave us “false information.”
Despite Mr Nollah’s claims, he refused to show his documents to Eko Hot Blog, calling them his “weapon” in court.
Parts of the demolished building
LASBCA INTERVENTION
In 2021, the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LSBCA) inspected and marked the property for demolition, saying that it was distressed.
Mr Olawuyi told Eko Hot Blog that Mr Nollah instigated the government agency to mark the building for demolition, but the latter denied any involvement when he spoke to our reporter.
The Dapo Ola developer said the development made him approach the family to extend the lease for another 22 years to give him much more time to construct a new building.
“As a result, I approached the same family to extend the lease for another 22 years to enable me to rebuild the house to the required standard and provide the necessary funds to finance the development and building of the property to a befitting and modern structure,” he said.
Parts of the demolished building
The latest agreement asked all tenants and occupiers to quit on or before August 31, 2022. It also proposed that the building construction would commence on September 1, 2022, and complete on August 31, 2023.
The building leasehold of 22 years would then commence from September 1, 2023, to August 31, 2045, according to the agreement.
However, the timeline did not materialise because Mr Nollah had started to raise dust as the new developer of the property. Mr Olawuyi said his rival turned the matter into a police case, thus delaying any kind of development.
BOTH PARTIES MAKE CONFLICTING CLAIMS
Mr Olawuyi of Dapo Ola Developer Limited has accused Mr Nollah of trying to railroad him because he has power.
“Sikiru Nollah believes that he has power, he has everything, he has thugs, he can do anything. He is now using power to take over. He just came one day all of a sudden that he had been given the property and was saying ‘everybody must leave this property’,” he said.
Mr Olawuyi noted that Mr Nollah started making the claims in August 2022 without showing documents to support his claims.
He acknowledged that a branch of the family was supporting the Lagos socialite’s claims to the property. He, however, added that the branch said to be loyal to Mr Nollah also agreed to lease the land to Dapo Ola Developer Limited.
On his part, Mr Nollah maintained that he has all the necessary documents to lay claim to the property.
He said he also has documents that show that the branch that leased the property to Mr Olawuyi had signed off the ownership of the building to another branch.
“All the propaganda can never stop me from doing that house because I have the [necessary] documents,” Mr Nollah said.
The Spokesperson and Secretary of the Kumeifo Oba Olaribigbe family, Mr. Lateef Tiamiyu, also spoke to Eko Hot Blog, telling our reporter that he was aware of another branch of the family laying claims to the property.
Parts of the demolished building
He told us that the family members backing Mr Nollah are not authorised to lease the property.
“These family members don’t have the power of attorney to lease or let any family property to anybody whatsoever. That is what I can say,” he said during a telephone call.
ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE COURT
The two main parties, Mr Nollah, and Mr Olawuyi, said the case has been taken to court.
“We want the law to take its course because this is a malicious damage. He (Mr Nollah) has caused a lot of damage and trauma to the tenants,” Mr. Tiamiyu told our reporter.
FURTHER READING
As of the time of filing this report, none of the parties could tell when the court process will commence.
Philip Ibitoye writes for Eko Hot Blog. This media platform reserves all rights to this article.
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