Landlords and residents of Ijegun/Ijedodo and Ijagemo in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State, have staged a peaceful protest at the Governor’s Office, Alausa, Ikeja over attempts by the State Government to demolish their houses and seize their lands which they claim to have legally acquirehavend habited for decades.
Led by the Executive Director, Human Rights Monitoring Agenda (HURMA), Comrade Buna Olitan Isiak and leaders of the various Community Development Associations (CDAs), the people claimed that they have been in undisputed possession of the said lands for more than 50 years, with over 3,872 families settled in the community.
The protesters carried placards with different inscriptions such as; ‘Corruption Must Stop: Stop Encouraging Omonile to Sell Land With Master Plan’, ‘They Are Selling Land Meant For Road On the Master Plan’, We Are Not Under Government of Acquisition’ among others.
In two separate petitions submitted to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Speaker of the State Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, the protesters accused some individuals of using their closeness to the corridors of power in the State to terrorise law abiding landlords and residents of Ijegun-Ijedodo-Ijagemo axis with threats to demolish their houses and confiscate their lands on the pretense that the State Government is abandoning the original Master Plan which certified their property as legally acquired and out of the Right Of Way (ROW).
According to them, some highly placed individuals have acquired lands and properties on the designated Right of Way but are now seeking to upturn and divert the original master plan in order to save their own skin and make innocent law-abiding citizens pay for their own efforts at law-breaking.
Addressing the protesters, a member of the House Committee on Physical Planing, Mr Kehinde Joseph commended members of the community for the mature way they handled the issue.
He urged them not to take laws into their hands, but to continue to give peace a chance assuring that the government will dispassionately look into the matter and ensure that justice was served.
