Magodo demolition is still in the works, with suspected thugs and policemen sealing off houses. But the residents are fighting to stop them
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
The planned demolition of Magodo, the upscale estate in the Shangisha area of Lagos State, is still in the works. Heavily armed policemen, acting on the orders from Abuja, are currently in the estate, sealing off properties in preparation for their demolition. But that has been stalled with the arrival of the Lagos Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and State police commissioner, Hakeem Odumosu.
The residents who on December 22, 2021, were jolted by the arrival of armed policemen and thugs, accompanied by bulldozers to their estate, saw the same faces again, today. This prompted protests from the residents which attracted the attention of the Lagos State Governor, and the outgoing Lagos police commissioner, Hakeem Odumosu, who has been promoted to the rank of Assistant Inspector General (AIG).
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Odumosu, had addressed the residents, notifying them that the policemen were in the estate to enforce a court judgment. But the residents asked him whether he has seen the judgment and why no court bailiffs among the demolition squad but thugs being escorted by policemen. He claimed they were around. They asked him to produce them, and that was the end of the conversation.
TheNiche had reported how on December 22, 2021, Magodo residents woke up to find hundreds of policemen bearing guns, not to catch terrorists or bandits making life impossible for Nigerians, but to enforce an alleged court order which allegedly gave the Adeyiga family more than 500 plots of land in Magodo. The Lagos government, according to what sources say were details from the judgment, was supposed to allocate the said land to the family. And since they thought that the Lagos State government was foot-dragging in allocating the land to them, the Adeyiga mobilized policemen and hired bulldozers to allocate the said 500 plots of land to themselves, which meant the demolition of at least 300 houses in Magodo Estate. But the said properties being marked for demolition were legally acquired by the residents from the Lagos State government, which also gave them Certificate of Occupancy (CofO).
The residents who asked Odumosu to order the policemen out of their estate, replied that he could not because the armed policemen were acting on an order from his superior, the likely person being the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba.
Sanwo-Olu, who later addressed the residents, said all the parties involved in the dispute would meet at the state house tomorrow, January 5.