Barely five days after, residents of Magodo Phase II, in Lagos, have expressed fear and concerns over continued occupation of the estate by armed policemen from Abuja, despite Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s intervention and quit order to the Police from the premises.
Residents under the platform of Magodo Residents Association, MRA, have been drawn in a face-off with acclaimed landowners, judgement creditors, led by Adedayo Adeyiga over attempt to take-over Magodo Estate property by the latter, on the pretext of executing 2012 Supreme Court judgement ceding the land to Adeyiga’s Family.
Armed policemen, acting on the instruction of the Attorney-General, AG, of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and Inspector General of Police, IGP, Usman Baba, had laid siege to Magodo for the past three weeks, in an attempt to execute the Supreme Court judgement.
Sanwo-Olu’s attempt in resolving the imbroglio amicably on Tuesday, was rebuffed by policemen drafted from Abuja on pretext of supremacy of court judgement which led to a confrontation between the governor and Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP, who led the Abuja police team, and refused to vacate the estate despite Sanwo-Olu’s directive.
MRA in a petition to the Lagos State House of Assembly, accused the AG of destabilising Lagos State by using his office to back the “illegality as a meddlesome interloper and the instrumentality of state to scuttle ongoing settlement.”
Subsequently, Sanwo-Olu, called on warring parties to sheath swords and summoned a stakeholders meeting the following day, Wednesday, leading to the setting up of a committee saddled with responsibility of resolving the matter.
At the truce meeting, the state government agreed to allocate 549 plots of land to judgement creditors within Shangisha area.
Adeyiga expressed satisfaction with the governor’s promise to settle the dispute amicably.
Consequently, on Friday the committee and the judgement creditors swooped into action and had a mutual working arrangement on settlement.
The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, described the meeting as “An exploratory meeting, well attended and is work in progress.”
Also, reacting to the continued presence of armed policemen in the estate, chairman MRA, Mr Bajo Osinubi, simply described it as “impunity, and show of unnecessary power.”
According to Osinubi “As we speak, there is apprehension among residents at the sight of the armed policemen who have refused to vacate despite all intervention by the state government led by Governor Sanwo-Olu.
“My concern is that in a democratic dispensation we are still witnessing this kind of impunity and sheer unnecessary power show by AG, Malami, is absolutely, uncalled for.
“All the policemen drafted for this operation are restless, and hungry, tired looking after three weeks of siege.”
