Thugs reportedly led by a man popularly known as Pastor have ejected tenants at a building on Nosamu Street in the Ajegunle area of Lagos over alleged failure of the landlords to pay an annual levy of N1,000 charged on the land.

The yearly levy is reportedly collected by Ojora Family which claimed to have leased the land on which the building was erected and accused the landlords of defaulting for over two 20 years.

But two of the landlords in charge of the house, Tunde Omoyinmi and Mrs Oriyomi Akinsemoyin, said their grandfather bought the land from the Ojora Family, lamenting that their property was forcefully taken over.

City Round learnt that the hoodlums invaded the building on July 29, 2021, and removed the roof in a desperate attempt to take possession of the land said to have been sold to a woman.

It was gathered that the invasion was reported to the police at the Ajeromi division and a team was deployed to the scene. Two of the thugs were reportedly arrested but released later in the day.

A tenant, who sells electronics at a shop in the building, Emmanuel Ohia, said Pastor approached him and other tenants sometime in June and gave them one month to vacate the building.

He said Pastor offered them N100,000 as compensation but he and two other tenants rejected the offer.

Ohia said, “I am an electrician and also sell electronics at the shop. Some people led by Pastor approached us and told us to vacate the house. They said the land had been sold and gave us one month’s notice to quit. I told them my landlord (Omoyinmi) did not tell me the house had been sold but they claimed he was aware.

“I called the landlord and he said he didn’t sell the house. After one week, they came with thugs to harass us. They offered us N100,000 to leave the house but I rejected it and told them I can’t get any shop for that amount. Some tenants who owed rents collected the money and moved out.

“They asked the rest of us that didn’t collect the money to stay away from the building. Since then, I have not opened the shop for fear of being attacked. We involved the police at the Ajeromi Police Station but did not get any positive result.”

Ohia, 45, lamented that continued closure of his shop had impacted negatively on the welfare of his family, adding that he had approached a magistrates’ court sitting in Apapa to get an injunction against his forceful eviction.

Another tenant, Tayo Ewegbemi, who sells drinks in the building, said she had been struggling to feed her family since her shop was shut.

She said, “That is my only means of livelihood. I learnt the Ojora family accused the landlords of not paying N1,000 annual due for several years.

“The landlord asked them to calculate the dues so he could pay but they declined. They sold the land to someone else and came to eject us. Some thugs came on July 29 and removed roofing sheets. Up till now, we can’t resume work. There are six shops in the building.”

One of the landlords, Omoyinmi, told City Round that he was shocked when he visited the house and discovered its roof had been removed.

Omoyinmi said he was told that Pastor, who allegedly works for the Ojora Family, led the invaders, adding that he had made efforts to know his whereabouts to no avail.

He said, “I learnt he works for the Ojora Family. We want him and other perpetrators to face the law to serve as a deterrent. We reported to the police at the Ajeromi Police Station but we didn’t get any result.

“We learnt that the land had been sold to a woman. It was sold without our consent. The woman had once invited us for settlement but we declined. The law must take its course. Our grandfathers bought the land.”

In a petition dated August 2, 2021 and addressed to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, Onikan, Lagos, the second landlord, Akinsemeyin, alleged that Ajeromi division had compromised and urged the AIG to carry out unbiased investigations into the matter.

The petition read in part, “On July 29, 2021, a group of very rugged and fierce-looking men claiming to be agents of the Ojora Family led by a man popularly called Pastor stormed our property at 25 Nosamu Street, Ajegunle and started removing the roof of the house and ejected the tenants.

“The matter was reported at the Ajeromi Police Station and police quickly rushed to the scene to arrest the situation. First, they were attacked but later successfully arrested two out of the thugs and subsequently took them to the station.

“We were shocked when those that we believed to be behind the ugly incident came to the station later in the day and the two suspects were released. I implore you to use your good offices to order an immediate and thorough investigation into this matter before it degenerates into a serious mess and mete out necessary sanctions to any police officer found to be involved in this plot against us.”

Pastor, who spoke to our correspondent on the phone, admitted that he works for the Ojora Family and confirmed the eviction of the tenants.

He claimed that the land was leased to the affected family and resold to another person because the family failed to pay their annual due for more than 10 years.

Pastor, who spoke in Yoruba, said, “My name is Prince Pastor Ojora. I am not the one selling land. I work for the monarch and act on his directive. Ojora doesn’t sell lands; we lease them. If you buy a half plot of land, you will pay N500 every year. If it is a plot, you will pay N1,000 and a receipt will be issued. Whoever fails to pay, after 10 years, we have the power to reclaim our land. The person will have to move his house from our land. That family has no right on that land again and we have told them to go to court. They have not paid the yearly charge for over 20 years. I wanted to help them but they claimed to be smart. The land had been sold to another person. The landlord was aware we wanted to sell the land.

“The person who bought it gave the tenants N100,000 each and a six-month notice. When it elapsed, the roofing sheets were removed. I wasn’t there on that day. They are free to go to their shops to pack their goods. Those tenants (Ohia and Ewegbemi) were asked to collect N100,000 but they rejected it.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, and the spokesperson for Zone 2, Hauwa Laraba, had yet to reply to text messages sent to them by our correspondent on the case as of press time.