Act fast to curb worsening land grabbing crisis, Lagos Assembly tells Sanwo-Olu

…Wades into Ikorodu land dispute

By Ebunoluwa Sessou

In a bid to curb the constant extortion and selling of land to multiple buyers, the Lagos Assembly has called on the Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to direct all agencies under land matters to expedite actions to protect ownership, ensure peaceful possession of properties and as well enforce appropriate sanctions for land grabbers in the State.

This was raised during the presentation of a report on a petition titled “Abuse of office, malicious destruction, land grabbing and undue conversion of property against Aluko Olusegun, the Vice-Chairman of Ikorodu West Local Council Development Area by Mr. Tijani Maruf Oludare.”

The resolution was reached at the plenary session, which was presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Mudashiru Obasa, yesterday.

Presenting the report, the Chairman of the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Public Petitions and LASIEC, Mr. Oladipo Ajomale, stated that upon receiving the petition, the Committee invited concerned stakeholders, relevant MDAs to a meeting and requested documents from both parties and the agencies of government and also visited the disputed piece of land in question.

During the findings, the Committee observed that there was a perimeter fence that covered four plots of land which was obviously constructed some years back, as claimed by Mr. Tijani Maruf, within which the contentious two plots of land was found.

Meanwhile, Mr. Aluko did not do background checks to confirm the status of the land from any government agency before making payment; he erroneously relied on the purported Appeal Court judgment of the Oponuwa Ogunmolu family, and it is evident that Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA had earlier carried out demolition of ongoing structures on the site.

The committee recommends that Mr. Tijani Maruf, the rightful owner, having obtained necessary documents from the State government, should take permanent possession of the entire parcel of four plots of land purchased from the Oponuwa Ogunmolu Adaraloye family branch at Igbo Agbowa village in Ikorodu.

Likewise, Mr. Aluko Adesegun should desist forthwith from unlawful encroachment and construction on the two plots of land purchased from the Oponuwa Ogunmolu family branch who is not the rightful owner of the property in line with the recent High Court judgment of January 2025.

Giving his submission, Mr. Akinsanya Nureni, noted that Mr. Aluko Olusegun should be punished for his actions to serve as deterrent to others who have intentions of selling a particular land to several other people.

Other members commended the Committee for a job well done, and advised that Mr. Tijani Maruf, the rightful owner should be allowed to enjoy his property.

Following the presentation of the report, the House unanimously adopted the committee’s recommendations as the resolution of the House.

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