The Lagos State Task Force on Land Grabbers has dislodged some land-grabbers from a land on Iju Road in the Agege Local Government Area of the state.
The land-grabbers were said to have forcefully encroached on and seized a piece of land in an estate belonging to one late Moshood Olatokunbo.
It was gathered that the land-grabbers prevented Olatokunbo’s wife, Olabisi, and other administrators of the estate of the deceased from taking possession of the land.
Olabisi, however, petitioned the task force over the persistent encroachment and disruption of work on the land by the hoodlums.
It was gathered that upon the receipt of the petition, the agency investigated and found out that the couple were the legitimate owners of the land after presenting a verified original deed of assignment, composite survey plan and approved building plan, while the land-grabbers could not come up with any document to back up their claims to the land.
Confirming the dislodgement, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), who is also the Chairman of the agency said, “The Lagos State Task Force on Land Grabbers dislodged some persons suspected to be land-grabbers from a portion of land measuring 1339.564 square metres situated on Iju Road in the Agege Local Government Area.
“The dislodgment and enforcement exercise was as a result of the investigation carried out by the state land-grabber task force on the petition written against Mr Fatai Okesiji and Mr Lai Omotola of Master Reality International Concepts Limited, the alleged land-grabbers.
“The outcome of the painstaking investigation showed that the petitioner is the rightful owner of the land, having submitted a verified original deed of assignment, composite survey plan and approved building plan; whereas the respondents could not come up with an authentic document to back up their claims to the land.”
Our correspondent learnt that the task force pulled down the illegal structures erected on the land by the land-grabbers, while the land had been returned to Olabisi.
Onigbanjo urged residents of the state to always bring to the attention of the agency any issue bordering on land grabbing by addressing such petitions to his office, adding that the agency had been re-energised and positioned to swiftly attend to all petitions and conduct proper investigations into cases of land grabbing.
He added, “The case of Mrs Olabisi Olatokunbo has proved that property forcibly and illegally seized by land-grabbers can be retrieved with minimal effort when the title documents on such properties are perfected. The task force will not condone perpetration of any act inimical to the laws of the state.
“I wish to remind residents that the Lagos State Property Protection Law of 2016 is in full swing. This law, which prohibits forceful entry and illegal occupation of landed properties, and violent and fraudulent conducts in relation to landed properties in Lagos State, prescribes severe penalties with various prison terms for different offences.”
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