Pay N15m or lose your home! Thugs threaten Lagos residents

Residents of Surulere Estate in Agbado/Oke-Odo LCDA have alleged that suspected thugs are demanding N15 million per house to halt unauthorised demolitions, despite the Federal Housing Authority distancing itself from the exercise.

James Chinedu (not real name), a resident of Surulere Estate in Agbado/Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area, has raised the alarm over the demolition and destruction of properties in the area by suspected thugs allegedly acting as extortionists. According to Chinedu, the group is demanding that each house pay N15 million to stop the destruction. “[Our area] has been terrorised for the past two weeks by ‘omo onile’ and thugs accompanied by police officers. They’re requesting each house pays N15.1 million for them to stop destroying houses and properties,” he said.

Speaking with Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) on Friday, Chinedu said that after the landlord association reported the matter to the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), the agency stated that the demolitions were unauthorised. Despite this, he alleged that the destruction has continued. “They are still causing havoc even as FHA has confirmed they didn’t authorise the demolition. The Lagos State task force are accompanying these miscreants to carry out the demolition,” the resident told FIJ.

Chinedu further said efforts to obtain a court injunction to stop the demolitions have been unsuccessful. “Our attempts to push for an injunction against the demolition by the leader of the thugs are being frustrated. The injunction keeps getting delayed, no date of hearing,” he said. He questioned the justice system, asking, “How is the Nigerian justice system failing its citizens? Why is someone actively preventing tax-paying citizens from getting the justice they deserve?”

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