Residents of Gateway Zone, Magodo Phase I, have sent out a Save-Our-Soul message to the Lagos State Government over recent breach of peace in the community by a popular lawyer and socialite, Abimbola Jack Oladugba.
According to several sources, Oladugba has been alleged to be a torn in the flesh of Gateway Zone residents, who now live in perpetual fear and anxiety over the incessant attacks by land grabbers and military operatives trying all means possible to gain access into the estate.
One of the main concerns of the residents as shared with Freelanews is the fear of armed robbery attacks due to the alleged incessant attacks led by Oladugba which might be leaving the estate vulnerable.
Problem started back in October 8, 2021 when Oladugba and her cohort in a gangster manner, acting on behalf of Ojoko and Oloto families, allegedly led thugs into the zone and forcefully destroyed the perimeter fence under the pretence of opening the boundary wall in order to make access to the adjoining lands.
Note that the Magodo Scheme is a Lagos State Government scheme established over three decades to which the government, pursuant to the Land Use Act 1978, allocated by way of parcels of land to various persons and on which members of the community development association built and erected houses for their respective families. And for a clearer perspective, Magodo Phase I, Gateway Zone is a Lagos State Government reservation area surrounded by wet land.
The issue was reported to the Isheri Divisional Police Station from where Oladugba and her cohort were charged to court on November 11, 2021.
“The matter was later withdrawn and taken to Zone 2. They were warned to desist from the illegal act of trespass and breach of peace in the community. Despite that, Abimbola Jack and her cohort has not relented as they have at different times confronted the security guards at the entrance of the gate way zone armed with guns and other ammunition to forcefully gain entrance into the estate,” one of our sources revealed to our correspondent.
The residents of the community later protested against the illegality championed by the socialite.
The chairman of Gateway Zone, Ayo Fasugba, while addressing news men, said the land is a government reserved area.
“Only for us to be confronted by omo oniles, after fixing this road through selfhelp, that they have thorough fare to their own land.
“The challenge is that people discovered that the bulldozer came here under the pretence that they were part of the construction work going on and within minutes, we just saw a portion of our fence already pulled down. It was a shock to everybody,” he narrated.
However, a representative of the Ojoko family, Tunde Balogun, one of the land owners, dismissed the claim that there was never a route through the estate to the wet land. He said those that sold the space to the residents needed access to their property which the resident association have deprived them of.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State House of Assembly has already set up some committee to look into the conflict amicably.
Honorable Sanai Agunbiade, while addressing news men said the lawmakers have received petitions on the matter and have taken several steps including a visit to the wet land.
”I didn’t know there was a protest because we are still on the matter and the house has not issued a final verdict.
“In respect to all these, all the house is trying to do is to mediate and see what we can do to actually resolve it so that everybody will see clearly that if this is what the house says, there is justification for it. If that has been the situation, we would have expected that the estate could have made representation to the committee on the matter,” Agunbiade said.
In what looked like the latest assault on the peace loving community, Oladugba and her cohort visited the estate on Monday 26 September, 2022 in company of men of the police force, who claimed to be conducting investigation, to disrupt the peace of the estate by impersonating one of the residents to gain access into the estate.
Again, yesterday, Tuesday September 27, she stormed Gateway Zone with 12 OP MESA officers to disrupt the activities in the estate and allegedly beat up one of the executives of the estate blue black. Not only that, it was reported that they also made an attempt to go away with the security mobile phone of the estate that was recording the scene of the assault.
Worried residents of the estate are calling on the state government and the Lagos House of Assembly to consider the safety of lives and properties of those living in the estate. They pleaded for urgent mediation and arrest of the situation.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
