By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
The demolition of a Lagos slum, Monkey Village, on New Year’s eve by two agencies of Lagos government – Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Environment, has taken another dimension.
Monkey Village was demolished without a prior notice to the more than 400 people living there, triggering a humanitarian crisis for the old and children who make up the bulk of the population.
The Lagos state government initially denied knowledge of the demolition, later admitted after numerous pressure that it carried out the exercise to clear the wetland from human habitation.
But on January 12, a private family said it was the one that carry out the demolition as a way of enforcing a court judgment it claimed to have gotten. But they had no court bailiffs with them while carrying out the destruction of the properties. Court bailiffs are the officials of court who can enforce court judgment.
A Lagos lawyer, Barrister Monday Onyekachi Ubani, has faulted the Meadows family for claiming ownership of the property which he said belongs to his client.
He said his client’s property is located on Folorunsho Kuku Street in Opebi area of Lagos State, while the court judgment being referenced by the Meadows family is in respect of a piece of property in Onigbagbon Area of Ikeja where Eko Hospital is presently situated.
But through Prosperous Ariyori Golden Ventures, the family said they took over Barrister Ubani’s client’s property based on several ruling of the courts which declared Meadows Family as the rightful owner of the property.
Through its legal practitioner, Francis Monye, it said the possession of the land was based on the ruling of the Lagos High Court in Suit No: LD/513/80 and Court of Appeal in Suit No: CA/1/16A/92, as well as the ruling of the apex court, the Supreme Court in SC146/1995, which were all in the favour of the G.W.O Meadows family.
Curiously, like a law enforcement agency, the family justified invading the Monkey Village which is not part of the disputed land.
The lawyer said: “It is not good to have illegal shanties within a city like Lagos. The place has become a haven for all sorts of crimes; people who are illegal immigrants living there. It is more like a training front for robbers; a place where they stashed proceeds of crimes. They come here to keep either stolen vehicles or stolen materials and this place also became a kind of terror to the environment. Most of the people in the shanties are people without any means of reasonable means of livelihood,” the statement said.
