Lagos agency vows demolition
Residents of Roseville Garden Estate in Ogombo, Eti-Osa, Lagos State, have accused the Lagos Building Control Agency of colluding with some individuals to forcefully take over plots of land in the area.
A resident of the estate, Sam Adeniji, in a letter made available to newsmen, accused the agency of ignoring the order issued by the state House of Assembly to withhold the proposed demolition of houses in the area.
The General Manager of LASBCA, Gbolahan Oki, who had earlier lamented the level of lawlessness in the Eti-Osa area, stated that most buildings in the community did not have the necessary documents for construction and insisted that the agency would enforce the demolition.
However, in his letter, Adeniji argued that the land in the Ogombo community fell within a global Certificate of Occupancy, adding that the claim made by LASBCA that the buildings lack permits was untrue.
Adeniji said, “We, the members of Roseville Garden Estate located at Ogombo, Eti-Osa, Lagos State are in contention with Mr Gbolahan Oki, General Manager of LASBCA, relating to land without approvals and his demolition exercise with his team on the 7th of October, 2023.
“Our land is within the Ogombo global C-of-O, while some of our members have secured the governor’s consent.
“The land is in contention at Epe court and the Lagos State House of Assembly recently served LASBCA, Alausa, and copied their Ikota offices in Eti-Osa to stay action on our land from any demolition until their report is out, but this was declined. What is the interest of Mr Gbolahan Oki and Gbenga Omotoso in the land that is not under government acquisition?
“Oki’s subordinates, the Lagos State coordinator on task force land grabbers in conjunction with Multipurpose Infrastructural Development Construction Limited, including Abbey Mortgage Bank, together with omo onile of Idowu Bakare’s family are using the good name of the Lagos State Government to forcefully collect people’s land and demolish houses for self-known interest and disobeying the House of Assembly committee after sending them warning to desist from all activities on people’s property in Ogombo,” he noted.
Our correspondent gathered that when LASBCA’s task force operatives arrived at Ogombo community on October 10, the planned demolition was halted by some residents, including the lawmaker representing the Eti-Osa Constituency 1 in the state assembly, Noheem Adams, who intervened and prevented the demolition.
The Lagos Assembly Majority Leader reportedly made several phone calls and told the leader of the enforcement team that no demolition should be carried out in the area.
Earlier, during a press briefing held on October 6, Oki had said, “This issue has been going on around Ogombo, Eti-Osa area of the state in the last five years, and I have been on it for one-and-a-half years. Hence, we are doing the needful by removing the illegal structures because the government must perform its duty.
“It is land owned by the state government and meant for housing. The land grabbers keep going there to disturb government officials, sell the land, and continue to build on the land meant for the state government. Some even come with fake Certificates of Occupancy,” he alleged.
In a statement made available to our correspondent by the agency’s Head of Public Affairs, Mrs Adetayo Asagba, on Wednesday, Oki reiterated that no exceptions would be given to property without appropriate building plan approvals.
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