Lagos landlord, tenants raise alarm over alleged police intimidation

…allege plot by illegal owner to forcibly take over warehouse

By Evelyn Usman

Police detectives from the Force Criminal Investigation Department, FCID, Alagbon, Lagos, have arrested some policemen who allegedly provided cover for thugs attempting to demolish a warehouse located at 50A Industrial Estate, Morrison Crescent, Oregun, Alausa, Ikeja.

The policemen, it was gathered, allegedly acted on the prompting of a woman claiming ownership of the property.

Thugs reportedly stormed the warehouse complex last week, chased out business owners, destroyed goods—mainly furniture—and partly demolished the structure before the intervention of the FCID team.

Briefing journalists in Lagos yesterday, landlord and co-owner of the warehouse, Mr. Babajide Doherty, alleged that the woman, who originally leased the warehouse, had resorted to force and intimidation rather than abide by the lease terms. He claimed she misled security operatives and the courts with false claims of ownership.

Tracing the genesis of the matter to 2014, Doherty said a Deed of Sublease was executed between the trustees of the estate of late Chief Doherty as lessors and the woman as lessee. The 50-year sublease, according to him, was divided into five terms of 10 years each, with a fixed annual rent of N250,000 per acre for the first 10 years, amounting to N445,750 per annum for the entire 1.795 acres.

But he alleged that she paid only an initial sum of N250,000 and defaulted on the outstanding N198,750 for that year. No further rent payments were reportedly made to date, according to him.

He lamented: “Part of the warehouse was secretly sublet to third parties, including Wow Creamery Limited for $69,000,000 under a three-year sublease and to Svengali Designs Limited for N25,000,000 under a one-year lease, without our consent, violating the lease.

“When we approached the court to revoke the lease, she started filing false police petitions to harass us. Thugs invaded the premises and disrupted operations.

“While legal action to reclaim the property is ongoing at the Lagos High Court in Suit No: ID/ARR/2860/2024 before Justice M.O. Daudu and Suit No: LD/4201LM/2023 before Justice O.O. Ogunjobi, we discovered that another person was presented as the bona fide owner of the property.

“Based on this manoeuvre, they moved in commando style to execute the judgment, chased away tenants, locked up the premises, and removed equipment worth millions of naira. A bulldozer was also brought in, which demolished part of the warehouse roof, causing malicious damage.

“Given the severity and pattern of deception, fraud, and criminal damage involved in this matter, we are calling on the Police at Alagbon to launch an immediate investigation into this harassment. Those found culpable should be prosecuted to the full extent of our laws to prevent innocent Nigerians from falling victim to such criminal activities.”

Some affected tenants also recounted their ordeal. Mr. Anselem Tabansi of Svengali Designs Ltd. said he leased the warehouse for N25 million per annum in late 2021 through an agent. Despite efforts to meet the owner before paying, he was told by the agent that the owner did not like interfacing directly with tenants.

A twist emerged three months later when he received a letter from a lawyer informing him that the agent had no authority to lease the property.

He said: “Attempts to meet the real owner were rebuffed, and instead, we got letters threatening lease revocation. Suddenly, policemen came and arrested us over false allegations of issuing dud cheques. We were also intimidated by EFCC officials. It has been a nightmare.

“They came with policemen and thugs who ordered everyone to leave the warehouse. They removed the roof, and on that day it rained heavily. All the furniture was damaged.

“In one instance, a court bailiff and some policemen stormed the warehouse to enforce eviction orders. While the matter was at the FCID Alagbon, another team of policemen stormed the warehouse again. But for the intervention of FCID officers who got wind of it, the thugs on ground would have brought down the entire warehouse.

“On two occasions, they brought a bulldozer to demolish the warehouses but were stopped, although part of the warehouse was still pulled down. They even tried using manual tools to break in. It has been endless stress. We have invested so much and all we want is to run our business peacefully.”

Another tenant, Mrs. Zainab Akingbeyin, who runs a furniture company, spoke of fear and constant disruption.

“Since we moved in, there has been no peace. Thugs come in, steal diesel, break our power generating sets and damage equipment. I am even afraid to go there now,” she said.

The distraught parties said a restraining order was pasted on the property, but alleged that the woman ignored it. They also claimed she never appeared in court in the ongoing suits filed against her and was unreachable, as she kept changing her phone numbers.

The landlords and tenants therefore called for a full investigation by the Police, the EFCC, and the Lagos State Government into what they described as a fraudulent takeover attempt.

Spokesperson for the FCID Alagbon, ASP Mayegun Aminat, confirmed that investigation was still ongoing.

However, efforts to reach the woman at the centre of the controversy failed, as calls to her phone after the briefing were not answered.

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