LEGAL TITLES IGNORED: FED GOVT MOVES TO TAKE OVER LAGOS RESIDENT'S PROPERTIES IN OKUN AJAH FOR ROAD PROJECT

By Olayiwola Ibrahim // Over 400 landowners and residents in the Okun Ajah area of Lagos State, have cried out that they acquired their properties and titles legally from the Lagos State Government.

They lamented that they were being harassed and intimidated with forceful take over of their properties by officials of the Federal Ministry of Works despite that their titles to the properties obtained since 2006, have not been revoked by the state government, while those who actually encroached on the coastal road are being spared.

We have taken the matter to court but we are still appealing to Mr. President to come to our rescue.

Addressing a press conference in Lagos, the residents and landowners, appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the encroachment on their properties by the realignment of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road project.

Addressing a press conference in Lagos, the residents and landowners who had last month, filed separate suits against the Works Minister, Dave Umahi, the Ministry of Works, Hi-Tech Construction Company Ltd, Lagos State Governor and Attorney General of Lagos State, also urged the President to call the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, to order over the continued encroachment on their land.

They stated that it is unjust for Umahi and his ministry to illegally encroach on their properties under the guise of realignment of the coastal road.

Alhaji Abimbola Oshilaja who addressed newsmen on behalf of other land owners and residents, condemned what he described as the brazen attempt by the minister and the Ministry of Works to forcefully take over their properties which they legally acquired and derived their respective titles from the Lagos State government.

It is disheartening that many of us who have proper titles to our property are the ones being harassed and intimidated with forceful takeover of our properties whereas the powerful people who encroached on the coastal road are being spared.

That is a clear injustice. We have taken the matter to court but we are still appealing to Mr. President to come to our aide.”

Oshilaja said himself and others like Etisalat Staff Co-operative Multipurpose Society Ltd, and Mr Olufemi Omoola Fasehun who had sued the minister, were never issued any notice of revocation of their titles by the Lagos State Government to date.

He said they were also not offered any compensation before the Federal Ministry of Works suddenly re-routed the coastal road project into their properties.

Oshilaja said that the over 400 house owners and the residents of the community are living in fear not knowing when the Ministry of Works officials would suddenly come and pull down their houses.

He insisted that Umahi and his ministry’s action is in breach of Section 28 of the Land Use Act, which requires notice of revocation, hearing, and fair compensation before the government can acquire land from its owner.

Also speaking on the issue, Mr Adeyemi Tajudeen, counsel to some of the aggrieved residents and landowners, stated that the minister’s action is a clear abuse of office.

He said in 2006, under the hand of then Governor Bola Tinubu now President of Nigeria, an excision was granted to the Okun Ajah community, and a global certificate of occupancy was issued to them under his hand.

Before this could be done, due process was carried out by the Lagos State Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning that the entire land of Okun did not fall within the coastal road project.

Subsequently, our clients who had purchased their land from the community have since been enjoying peaceful possession until suddenly when Umahi and his ministry decided to realign the coastal road project to please some powerful individuals who had built and encroached on the original alignment of the coastal road.

We believe that what Umahi is doing on our clients’ land is in total contravention of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

It is a total breach of relevant sections of the Land Use Act, particularly Section 28 of the Land Use Act which states that before any land of a Nigerian could be acquired at all, there must be notice of revocation, proper hearing, and the owner of the property must be given a fair hearing.

We were not even heard talk less of giving any fair hearing at all. No notice of revocation and no payment of compensation was offered to any of our clients.

What the minister is doing with the realignment of the coastal road is to punish the people who have both equitable rights and legal rights.

In fact what is happening in Okun Ajah is an absolute display of coercive powers by the Minister of Works, Umahi.

We have filed the necessary action before the court to restrain Umahi, the Ministry of Works, Hi-Tech Construction Company Ltd and other parties from further encroaching on our clients’ land and we believe that Justice will prevail.

We are, however, using this opportunity to appeal to Mr. President to call Umahi to order.

It is not too late for Umahi to do the right thing, so we are appealing to Mr President who we know as an advocate of the rule of law, to prevail on the minister to do what is right.

The President is known for the rule of law stating that as a result of that, it has become the policy of the Lagos State Government since around 2006, that anybody that buys property on a coastal road alignment, they don’t issue the title.

We want to stress further that our clients have their titles to their properties.

I want Mr. President to intervene and save the souls of our clients by telling the Honorable Minister of Works to go back to the original coastal road alignment.