As stern-looking policemen took over the highbrow Magodo area of Lagos State this morning to carry out a Supreme Court judgment ordering the Lagos State government to return 549 plots to the original owners of the area before it was “fraudulently acquired over 38 years ago,” panic gripped landlords and residents.
More than 1,000 youths, allegedly recruited by the Shangisha Landlords Association, were moving from house to house making the possession known while anti-riot policemen were stationed in a strategic area within the highbrow area.
The court had given them possession of the land on which the houses were built, according to the inscription on each house.
The state’s military government then purchased the land for public use, as you may recall.
However, it was eventually sold to government officials and their cronies, prompting the original owners to seek remedy in the high court through the Shangisha Landlords Association.
The court then ruled that both parties must maintain the status quo in the region, which means both parties must abandon the land until the matter is resolved.
The state government, however, continued to sell the land despite the court injunction.
The state government was eventually ordered to give the Association and its members 549 parcels of land as a matter of first priority by the high court in its final verdict.
Dissatisfied with the high court judgment, the government approached the Appeal Court which affirmed the judgment of the lower court on the matter.
It ordered that Lagos state should, as a matter of first priority, give back 549 plots of land to the original landowners in the Association of Shangisha landlords.
The matter went on to the Supreme Court, which also affirmed the judgment of lower courts.
The Supreme Court judgment was handed down six years ago, but the Lagos State government refused to execute the judgment.
The police storm the area at about 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, to maintain law and order while the marking of the houses by a court bailiff was ongoing.
As at the time of filing this report, confusion and panic pervaded the whole area.
Many of the landlords said they bought their land from the Lagos State government, adding that they were not aware of litigation on the land when they bought the land for which they were given a certificate of occupancy.
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