Residents of Supori community, New Site, along Apeje-Sagamu Road, Imota, Ikorodu, Lagos State, have petitioned the state government and the House of Assembly, decrying the wanton destruction of their houses allegedly by government. They claimed that the action did not only put a great set back in their lives but also negated the humanitarian face of the present administration.
The residents, under the aegis of the landlords association, who also staged a peaceful protest at the Governor’s Office and the House of Assembly, complained that they were rendered “homeless and wretchedly helpless since April 5, 2018, by the bulldozers and excavators purportedly sent by the state government to pull down the over 250 houses in the community.
The petition, signed by their chairman, Dr. Godwin Ulwa aghedo and four other community leaders stated that “government should quickly intervene in the matter in order to douse the tension and sooth frayed nerves of the downtrodden.
“The army of occupation made up of about 100 armed policemen, 200 brigands and officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) and the Ministry of Agriculture, invaded the village at the wee hours of the said day, leaving in their wake sorrow, tears and blood.
“As we speak today, not a single building stands in Supori, Imota community. Many of the residents who have nowhere else to call home and cannot afford any accommodation or whose only sources of livelihood were destroyed, are sleeping in the cold under open heavens.
“The Supori Family availed the Lagos Ministry of Agriculture a leasehold over a vast land measuring 135 areas at Supori village, Imota, on January 7, 1971, for a period of 25 years.
“The leasehold did not only expire in 1996 (25 years ago), the ministry has also stopped putting the same to any agricultural use since 1996; and the State High Court sitting at Ikeja ruled on March 21, 2001, vide suite No 10/2479/97 that the family is entitled to repossession of the land.”
The petitioners, who suspected that the demolition might not be unconnected with fifth columnists and political distractors poised at tarring and smearing the good name of the governor and his re-election, wanted government to not only compensate the aggrieved residents, but also rebuild the destroyed buildings. They argued that the land in question was neither government land, under acquisition or otherwise, nor did it fall within any known setback (road, power line or waterway).
In a follow-up to the petition, last week Thursday, the Governor’s Office directed the community leaders to the Ministry of Agriculture for further action.