Lagos declares war on land grabbers, 60 on trial, 205 arrested, 7,500 petitions received

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu

•Property transactions in Lagos have been greatly hindered by activities of the omo-onile, ajagungbale —Attorney General
•Epe community invokes ancestral spirits against land grabbers, forms local task force

DAYO AYEYEMI reports the increased onslaught of task force against the assault of land grabbers.

THE menace of land grabbers is as old as modern Lagos, hurting property owners and threatening real estate’s transactions and investments in the state. But it appears that the state government is battle-ready to confront the monster, going by the seriousness with which it is now addressing complaints and crises arising from the omo onile syndrome.

Apart from threatening public peace and trust in land transactions, this recurring menace has taken another dimension in recent time, rendering many property or land owners homeless and bringing sorrow, injuries and even death to its numerous victims.

Even as the state government came up with cheering news of multiple arrests and prosecutions to demonstrate its commitment to justice for the victims, findings have shown that influential land grabbers still exploit legal loopholes to intimidate rightful owners of land and property.

In Lagos, the issue of land grabbing has been a persistent challenge causing unrest, stifling commercial activities and disrupting the lives of thousands of residents affected by it.

Residents of the state however had something to cheer penultimate week when the Lagos State Task Force disclosed the arrest and prosecution of 12 suspected land grabbers who were allegedly terrorising occupants of NERDC Road, Alausa, Ikeja, where the seat of government is located.

The suspects were apprehended following credible intelligence that they were obstructing lawful occupants from carrying out their legitimate activities. Reports indicated that they arrived at a hotel armed with dangerous weapons and assaulted one Mr Ashafa.

The latest operation, like many before it, according to the task force, is to ensure that the built sector does not become one huge chaos in the state. The task force added that the activities of land grabbers across the state, if not checked, could lead to disruption of developmental activities, with victims being cheated of their hard-earned money.

Chairman of the agency, Adetayo Akerele, who personally led the team that arrested the 12 suspects, warned other unscrupulous individuals still trading in land grabbing. He said the agency won’t sit back and watch Lagosians get cheated out of their landed property or structure.

Following their arrest, the suspects were charged to court where they pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. The court adjourned the case till March 26, 2025 for further hearing.

Meanwhile, the accused persons were granted bail in the sum of N500,000 each, with two sureties per suspect. One of the sureties must be a civil servant not below Level 14, while the second must either be a relation, a clergy or a community leader.

Akerele noted that the Lagos State Task Force remains committed to preserving law and order in the built sector and will not tolerate any form of intimidation, violence, or land grabbing within the state.

He implored residents to report any unlawful activities to the appropriate authorities.

Land grabbing petitions

Available records showed that as of February 2024, the Lagos State Task Force had received 7,500 petitions, 1,251 of which were deemed frivolous. It was also discovered that 4,283 disputes were resolved, 205 land grabbers arrested and 60 cases being prosecuted in various courts, with 1,566 petitions pending before the agency.

Land grabbing, according to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), “is a serious issue that affects the environment, economy, social welfare and human rights.”

An AI-generated definition says land grabbers are “people, companies, or countries that take land illegally or in a way that is considered morally wrong. They may use force or fraud to acquire land or other property,” adding that most of the time they behave as if they are above the law.

In Lagos, land grabbers have been known to forcefully take over land from rightful owners.

Surulere invasion

In 2023, landlords and residents of Surulere, a foremost community in the state, recounted their experience over the invasion of their neighborhood by some individuals they described as “unknown land grabbers.”

They alleged that the group of unknown individuals accompanied by mobile police officers besieged the neighbourhood claiming to have secured a court order to take possession of over 300 buildings within the “315.9 acres as captured by Survey Plan No: AGW/263.”

Many of the landlords and residents said they were surprised by the incident since they never had any contention with anyone about their land. Many buildings and shops around Masha Roundabout, Adelabu Street and other inner streets were marked with the inscription “IKD/288/68 possession taken today 30/3/2923 by court.”

One of the landlords, who identified himself simply as Tunde, said they (the landlords) were surprised to see people who he described as “unknown thugs” marking their buildings, claiming to have secured a court judgement to take possession of the properties. He noted that the house belonged to his father and that he had never seen such harassment throughout his 39 years of staying in the community.

He pointed out that some of the houses in the neighbourhood were built over 40 years ago. Some of them, he said, belonged to notable Lagosians and families.

According to him, many owners of these buildings (about 300) were no more while some had relocated, leasing out their houses to tenants.

Epe’s self-help

Also recently, the Aladeshonyin of Odo-Noforija in Epe, Babatunde Ogunlaja, warned against land-grabbing activities within his community. Ogunlaja, at a town hall meeting in Odo-Noforija, vowed to do everything to protect the ancestral heritage and the rights of his people to their properties.

He said, “Land grabbers should stay off or be ready to incur the wrath of our ancestors because I will resist any unlawful seizure of land by individuals or groups.”

The traditional ruler also warned that land grabbers who exploit legal loopholes and intimidate rightful owners would face the full wrath of the law.

“Any individual or group involved in land-grabbing should desist immediately, or they will be dealt with accordingly. We have established a special task force, in collaboration with local security agencies, to tackle land-related disputes and prevent illegal occupation,” said Ogunlaja.

He urged affected individuals to report land encroachment cases, assuring them of swift action.

“We will work closely with law enforcement agencies and the judiciary to ensure that justice is served and that land-owners can live without fear,” he said.

Ogunlaja called on governments to strengthen land administration policies and effectively enforce property rights.

The traditional ruler stressed the need for proper land documentation, urging residents to register their land titles to prevent fraudulent claims.

“Anyone caught aiding or abetting landgrabbers will not be spared but treated as an accomplice,” he warned.

A community leader, Tunde Oshin, lauded the traditional ruler’s decisive action, hoping it would end the growing menace of land-grabbing.

The Elejigbo of Langbasa, Oba Hafeez Olakunle Badiru, said land grabbers, for decades, had constituted a threat to property acquisition in Lagos, saying that there had been alarming reports of land grabbing.

He urged the police to ensure immediate prosecution of identified land grabbers and their sponsors to serve as a deterrent to other citizens in the state.

Anti-land grabbing law still in force –Attorney-General

In a bid to curb and tackle the unscrupulous activities of land grabbers, the Lagos State government, through the Lagos State Special Task Force on Land Grabbers under the State Ministry of Justice, last year, organised a stakeholders’ meeting, with the theme ‘Safeguarding Possessory Rights in Lands: The Role of Lagos State Special Taskforce on Land Grabbers’, at Sangotedo, Eti-Osa.

The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), who spoke at the event, noted that the rise in cases of land grabbing was an issue of great concern to the state government.

According to him, the purpose of organising the stakeholders’ meeting was to foster open dialogue, share information, experiences and collectively identify solutions to the problems inherent in the activities of land grabbers.

“As part of the effort to address the issue of land grabbing 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” Pedro stated.

He added that resolving land-grabbing issues is of great importance to Governor Sanwo-olu’s T.H.E.M.E.S.PLUS agenda.

Pedro further stated that the menace of land grabbers had led to conflicts on land in the state, resulting in destruction of properties and loss of lives.

“It is a fact that property transactions in Lagos State have been greatly hindered by the activities of the omo-onile and ajagungbales,” he said.

Furthermore, the attorney general emphasised that the law on land grabbing that was enacted in 2016 still stands regardless of anyone’s status in the society. He explained some of the provisions of the Lagos State Property Protection Law, 2016 and in particular, Section 2(1) of the law which prohibits the use of force or self-help by anyone to take over any landed property or engaging in any act inconsistent with the proprietary rights of the owner of any landed property in Lagos.

Others who spoke at the event noted the importance of the role of the taskforce in safeguarding Possession Rights in land within the state, pointing out how crucial it is for all hands to be on deck in shaping the policies and strategies that would curb land grabbing activities in the State.

Dayo Ayeyemi