Some members of the Oyetubo Jokotade family in the Sangotedo area of Ajah and their allotees on Wednesday protested against what they alleged as a disregard to a court ruling by the Lagos State Government.
The family members and the allotees, who were seen with placards, protested over the alleged continued occupation of their land by heavily armed policemen.
They also accused the government and its agencies of demolishing about 30 houses despite having the governor’s consent on the demolished buildings.
The protesters also called on the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to stop the Lagos State Task Force from harassing them and their allottees.
The protesters carried different placards with inscriptions such as, “Lagos State government, stop contempt”, “Taskforce, leave our land,” “Stop terrorising us”, “Governor Sanwo-Olu, uphold democracy value”, and “Lagos State, please let us breathe.”
A family member, Saliu Tajudeen, while speaking with journalists, during the protest, stated that some persons were using the name of the Lagos State Government to hijack about 11 hectares of land from their property.
He said, “Our family under the aegis of Oyetubo Jokotade Estate Management which comprises three families has been managing our property which was over 200 hectares of land decided to reserve 11 hectares.
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“We allotted some portions to some people but to our surprise, some hijackers hiding under the state government took over our land claiming that they are acting on the instructions of the governor.”
He noted that the family “took the matter to court and an interlocutory injunction was granted pending the determination of the case.”
The family member added that, “Surprisingly, some people under the New Town Development Authority took over our land and demolished our houses.”
“Although the Lagos State Government has denied any involvement in the occupation of our land and we believe that. That is why we are calling on the governor to step into the matter and stop the hijackers from using police from harassing us and the allotees.”
He pleaded that Sanwo-Olu should intervene so as to avoid a breakdown of law and order in the area because they didn’t want trouble.
Another member, Chief Jamiu Akinsemoye, also called on the Lagos State Government to urgently investigate what he described as attempts to grab their land by using the name of the government.
“We approached the court and an interlocutory injunction was granted. We abide by the order, but surprisingly the Lagos State Government and some hijackers encroached on our land and brought in police taskforce, chasing, beating, and harassing our family members.”
“Some of the allotees have got the Lagos State governor’s consent. We want the state government to hands off from our property,” he said.
Counsel for the family, Tope Odeniran, described the continued occupation of the land by armed policemen, who were drafted there by the defendants, as an abuse of the law.
