Property Allottees Seek Lagos Govt Intervention On ‘Violent’ Excesses Of Land-Grabbers In Ayobo

• The land grabbers have rebuffed our entreaties and overtures – Allottees

Individuals under auspices of ‘Ayobo allottees’ have appealed to the Lagos state government to help address the menace of land grabbers who have usurped the land allocated to them.

The group alleged that the ‘dangerously violent’ activities of the land grabbers, popularly known as omo onile or Ajagungbale, have made execution of construction works at the sites practically impossible.

The group disclosed that the land grabbers, who prowl the area brandishing weapons and charms, threatened to kill anyone who attempts to embark on construction on his/her alloted land.

In a letter dated March 30th, 2021 and addressed to to the executive secretary of Lagos state land use and allocation Committee, the group noted that the intimidation and usurpation started in December last year.

In the letter sent to Ekohotblog,  the allottees averred that, despite having at their disposal a duly signed letter of allocation and other important documents indicating their ownership of the land, the land grabbers told them the government doesn’t own the land allocated them.

It added that all effort to remind the land grabbers that they were encroaching on their land fell on deaf ears as they demolished all existing structures and erected a sign board advertising land for sale.

READ ALSO: 3 Land Grabbers “Ajagun Gbale” Arrested, Caught With Charms and Harmful Weapons

The allottees beseeched the government to wade into the matter and make its position known because the precarious situation has left them in a lurch.

Contravention of extant laws

The nefarious activities of the land grabbers amount to gross violation of Lagos state laws on land ownership which proscribed land grabbers in the state.

In a bid to curb the unscrupulous activities of the land grabbers in the State, the Lagos State government enacted a law to prohibit forceful entry and illegal occupation of landed properties, as well as violent and fraudulent conducts in relation to landed properties in the State.

The law seeks to protect the proprietary rights of land and property owners in Lagos State and also criminalizes actions of forceful and unlawful entry or occupation of premises.

It is noteworthy that Section 281 of the criminal law included land as things capable of being stolen, while Sections 52 and 53 of the law prescribe a jail term of two years for any person who forcibly enters or takes possession of land in a manner likely to cause a breach of peace.

The temerity of miscreant gangs

Even more worrisome is the audacity of these motley crowd of daring invaders to lay claim to land owned by the government. By law, all land belongs to a state government, who, by the power invested in it, could use it for whatever purpose it deems fit, part of which include leasing out to citizens for 99 years.

Below are pictures of the land under Ayobo residential scheme.