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Illegal structures go down in Ikoyi,V.I., Lekki…

By Odita Sunday and Gbenga Salau
26 September 2016   |   3:54 am
After several warnings to owners and occupants of illegal structures and shanties to vacate such structures, the Lagos State government at the weekend put a bite to its threat when its caterpillars roared and demolished...
The ongoing demolition..on Saturday

The ongoing demolition..on Saturday

• Crisis averted as Iposu family claims ownership of land in Epe

After several warnings to owners and occupants of illegal structures and shanties to vacate such structures, the Lagos State government at the weekend put a bite to its threat when its caterpillars roared and demolished marked structures across Ikoyi, Lekki and Victoria Island (VI).

The chairman of the Lagos State Task Force, Olayinka Egbeyemi, who led the operation, disclosed that the demolition was long overdue after the expiration of an ultimatum given to residents and occupiers of the affected shanties and structures to vacate.

Egbeyemi disclosed further that the exercise was going to be continuous “until the entire environment is cleaned up of illegal structures.”

The exercise was jointly carried out by officials of the Task Force, Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), local council officials, paramilitary men , representatives of Victoria Island and Ikoyi Residents’ Associations (VIIRA) and other relevant stakeholders.

The chairman noted that the present administration under the leadership of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode would not condone any illegal and criminal hideout across the state.

He maintained that the emerging status of Lagos as a mega-city must be jointly protected and be made safe for foreign investors, who are interested in coming to invest in different sectors of the economy in the state.

In another development yesterday, disaster was averted in Epe when a judgment creditor moved to site to affirm its ownership of a large parcel of land, which is bounded by the Epe Lagoon.

The judgment creditor, Iposu family, had mobilised many of its member the site yesterday to effect ownership by planting its signpost, when a party challenging them ownership, led by one Chief Rasaq brought thugs to chase away the Iposu family from the land.

It, however, took the intervention of some security operatives, who prevailed on the disputing parties from escalating their disagreement into violence.

Speaking to The Guardian, secretary of the Iposu family, Alade Olayiwola Oladunjoye, said litigations over the land had gone on to the Appeal Court and Supreme Court and the family had we won all the cases in Suit No. SC/36/1981 between O. Solomon & others and A.R. Mogaji & others.

“The judgment delivered on November 12, 1982 confirmed the ownership of the said large parcel of land at Akesan, Papa in Epe to the Iposu chieftaincy family. Some years ago, one chief with the alias KLM encroached on this land. Our lawyer, Femi Okunnu wrote to him to desist from encroaching but he has been unyielding.

“Hence, we are here today to erect our signpost signifying our intention that we own the land. Whoever now encroaches or tampers with the land will have to face the wrath of the law,” he said.

Head of the family, Prof. S.O. Talabi, said; “it is not in dispute that the land belongs to Iposu family, but because we have allowed several agricultural activities to go on unhindered in the past, we discovered some people are using the advantage of that to encroach. This is why we are here today.”

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