After 18 days of being locked out by their landlord for owing rent, members of the family of Olalekan Balogun have been returned to their apartment by the Lagos State Citizens’ Mediation Centre.

It was learnt that the landlord had issued a notice to quit to the family in January and after the expiration of the notice, the landlord had on March 25, 2021, allegedly seized the property of the Baloguns and denied them access to their apartment at the European Quarters in the Meiran area of the state, leaving them stranded.

Our correspondent learnt that Mr Balogun was unable to pay his rent due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on his business.

It was gathered that all efforts to resolve the matter by the police proved abortive as the landlord allegedly refused to honour police invitations.

However, the CMC in a statement on Wednesday by its Public Affairs Officer, Olaide Popoola, said it invited all the parties involved and resolved the issue.

The statement read in part, “The quick intervention of the Lagos State Citizens’ Mediation Centre finally brought succour to the homeless family as the centre invited the parties to mediation sessions, where the misunderstanding between them was resolved and the family was granted full access to their apartment and belongings.

“In addition, the family was given an extension of two months’ stay in the apartment till May 31, 2021. The total sum of N170,000 was also waived from the rent arrears to further ease the eventual relocation of Mr Balogun and his family to a new property on or before May 31, 2021.”

In this article: