UPDATE: AJAO ESTATE BUILDING DEMOLITION
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Ajao Estate and Shasha structures were attacked by agents of the federal and state governments of Lagos last week, and a total of 13 homes that were allegedly built illegally near the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Isolo, were knocked down.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, and the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, led by Hycienth Ngwu, general manager of business development for FAAN, and Gbolahan Oki, director of LASBCA, addressed the media before beginning the gruesome task and defended their course of action.
The houses, according to Oki, were erected without valid permissions. Others lacked the necessary plan approvals. They were purportedly constructed near pipelines that carried aviation fuel to the airports, putting people’s lives and property at risk from explosions.
The land belonged to FAAN, according to Ngwu. It was purchased so that the airport could be developed, but some construction workers trespassed on it. Years of warnings to stop building close to the airport’s perimeter fences have gone unheeded. Since 2016, the building has been under threat of demolition. He expressed satisfaction that the state government made the appropriate decision.
Also on the other side, how could government agents such as FAAN and LASBCA continue to watch people encroach and build on government land for years only to suddenly wake up for demolitions of billions of naira proceeds of individuals’ sweat?
This can only be possible when greedy or ignorant individuals collude with crooked government officials and families which had forfeited their land to government for the public good to violate the law.
It is these same government officials who issued the fake approvals that turn around to carry out the demolitions. Therefore, the onus is on developers to do thorough due diligence before parting with their hard-earned money to buy and build.
They should use the services of licensed estate agents and seasoned lawyers to know where land is still available for purchase.
It is so unfortunate that in almost every case such as this, government officials that issued the fake documents are never identified and brought to justice. Because of this, the crime continues, and the victims are almost always left to lick their wounds alone without justice.
We encourage those who feel they have genuine cases of possible victimisation, perhaps on political grounds, to pursue justice in the courts.
Let others learn from the experiences of the rest who jay-walked into well-laid booby traps by criminal syndicates in and around government.
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