Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday signed a new law outlawing land grabbing in and extortion of money from land developers in the state. The properties protection law was enacted as the appropriate response to the menace of locals, popularly called Omo-Oniles, who are mainly the original or earliest inhabitants of the different areas of the state. The Omo-Oniles have for long posed a huge threat to land owners and property developers in the state.

On paper, this new response couched in the “law to prohibit forceful entry and illegal occupation of landed properties, violent and fraudulent conducts in relation to landed properties in Lagos State and for connected purposes,” is a deviation from the traditional norm of treating the miscreants, who are generally seen as the nemesis of land developers, with kid gloves. Also judged from its contents, the new law is a big blow to the power of the Omo-Oniles.

In practice, however, the new legislation is largely a reframing of various extant statutes that outlaw the wilful obstruction of legitimate property and land transactions. The Criminal Law of Lagos State contains several provisions that prohibit attempts to dispossess people of their legitimate property or disrupt their lawful use of land.

The Lagos State government set up a taskforce in June to check the menace of land-grabbing in the state. During the inauguration of the taskforce, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, said the Ambode administration was determined to apply the full weight of the law to permanently address the Omo-Onile issue, saying the havoc and unrest they have caused residents is no longer acceptable.

Kazeem said henceforth, anybody who used threat or intimidation to dispossess people of their legitimate property will be punished in accordance with Sections 52, 53 and 281 of the Criminal Law of the state. It is doubtful if the taskforce has been effective – and even more doubtful if many people in the state are aware of its existence.

Definitely, what will make the difference is the courageous enforcement of the new property protection law.
Miscreants among the aboriginal communities in the state have almost immemorially constituted an ever-present nightmare for land buyers and property developers. They have appeared at virtually every stage of land and property development to make illegal, frustrating, and, sometimes, impossible demands. They have also formed themselves into bands of land-grabbers who go about dispossessing legitimate owners of land of their property.

The Omo-Oniles have maintained a rather complicated relationship with the politicians and security agencies, a situation that more often than not, makes their victims mostly helpless.

The killing in October last year of the managing director of the Lekki Free Zone Limited, Mr. Tajudeen Disu, marked a painful culmination of a long reign of terror by criminals among the earliest inhabitants of the state. Disu was among persons killed as Ibeju-Lekki villagers and riot police clashed at Okunraiye community, near Ibeju-Lekki, on the morning of October 12 last year.

The villagers said they were on a peaceful demonstration against the forceful takeover of their land by the Lagos State government when policemen called in by the government attacked the protesters, killing two of them. They said the killing resulted in commotion. Disu, reportedly, died in the melee, as the police officers guarding him and protesting villagers clashed. A policeman and two villagers were said to have also died in the crisis.
The land in question was for the Lekki Free Zone Limited and construction of a petrochemical refinery by Africa’s richest businessman, Aliko Dangote.

But the police said Disu was lynched by angry villagers who had mobilised to violently prevent any construction on the site, as “They claimed that they did not sell their land to Dangote refinery.”

The Lagos State government and the security agencies are still trying to piece together that tragic culmination in the Lekki Free Trade Zone initiative. But the Omo-Oniles were not deterred. They have carried on with gusto, becoming even bolder and fiercer in their campaign of violent obstructionism and extortion targeted at land buyers and developers.
Many Lagos residents, especially land owners, welcome the land-grabbing prohibition law. But they remain sceptical due to the obvious practical constraints in the enforcement of the law.

There are fears that the new law may not be really effective because of the ostensibly blurred line between the Omo-Oniles, who the law is supposed to restrain, and locals frequently employed by politicians as foot soldiers in the hunt for votes during elections. It is a generally appreciated fact that the Omo-Oniles form a veritable electoral base for many politicians in the state. The concern is that state officials and politicians may find it difficult to stand by and let their offending foot soldiers face the full weight of the law.
It is hard to determine how able and willing the political class in the state would be to buck pressure from the Omo-Oniles when the chips are down.

Generally, however, there is no doubt that the Lagos State land-grabbing prohibition law represents a crucial and commendable step in the efforts to deter what has become the state’s biggest threat to land development. But the government would need to do more to reassure the public that it is not on a mission to merely whitewash the crude power of the land-grabbers and extortionists.

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The residents stormed the Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday morning calling on the lawmakers to save them as their houses had been demolished by officials of the state government.

According to them, the demolition exercise was carried out by agents of the state Ministry of Physical and Urban Planning.

The protesters, chanting save-our-soul songs, were armed with placards carrying inscriptions like: “We are now homeless”, “This is not the change we voted for”, “Please save our community”, “This is injustice”, “We want justice for Mosafejo, community”, “they pushed us away from our house will bulldozer”, “We have always been voting for you, don’t afflict or oppress us”.

The protesters called on the Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, as well as their representative, Folajimi Muhammed, to prevail on Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to restore their property.

The group also appealed to Senator Olamilekan Adeola, and House of Representatives member, James Faleke, to save the community from further demolition.

The aggrieved residents handed a protest letter to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

In the letter with title: ‘Invasion/Demolition of Mosafejo Village, Oshodi By Lagos State Government: A Call For Justice,’ and signed by Comrade Buna Olaitan of Human Rights Monitoring Agenda, HURMA, the protesters stated: “our attention has been drawn to the invasion and demolition exercise on-going at Mosafejo Village by the Lagos State Government.”

They explained that the entire community was given a seven-day notice to vacate the entire area, adding that before the expiration of the notice, some task force officials came with hoodlums and chased people away

“Though the place was visited by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, he only directed us to meet with the Commissioner for Physical Planning, who later insisted that we vacate within stipulated time.

“While the community was trying to seek the attention of the Lagos State Government to have proper understanding, caterpillar and bulldozer were moved to the area and before the arrival of HURMA, the entire village has been brought into extinction,” they said.

The organisation subsequently demanded the immediate withdrawal of police and taskforce officials from the community, and the arrest and prosecution of police officers, who worked with hoodlums to rob the people of their properties.

They called on the Lagos State House of Assembly and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to give immediate attention to the residents of the area, who are internally displaced.

“A call on the Lagos State Government to rebuild the entire place and as well as compensate the affected people,” they added.

Speaking on the matter, a youth leader in the area, Mr. Yemi Babatunde, stated that the ministry brought the notice on 11 January only to come back with a two-day notice on 14 January before the houses were eventually demolished on Friday, 6 February, 2016.

“We had been seeking approval for the 72-year old area since 2008. Former governor Babatunde Raji Fashola was in the place in January, 2014 and he said that we should see the then leader of the state taskforce brigade, Mr. Bayo Suleiman, but we could not settle the matter then,” he said.

He stated that the land in the area was acquired in 1937 and that people have been living in the area since 1944.

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The group said this had become important since the immediate past administration of Babatunde Fashola could not resolve the problems even when civil society constantly called government attention to the plight of people in the state.

In the letter, the group urged the Lagos state government to do everything in its capacity to address the issue as the rainy season is here. CACOL said roads in Lagos are in terrible situations due to flooding.

Read the full letter below

INHERITED FLOODING IN LAGOS STATE REQUIRES URGENT ATTENTION

The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) is a group of civil society, community based and other non-governmental organizations with the objective of fighting corruption and corrupt persons by any means possible at all levels in Nigeria.

We write to acknowledge your government’s demonstrated efforts, since coming on board barely 130 days ago, at addressing various problems confronting the people of Lagos State especially in the area of infrastructural development. Specifically, reports from our monitors so far have portrayed your government as being proactive and sensitive to the plight of the state residents as it applies to roads and environment.

We want to commend you by saying that you have taken off on a promising note and wish and hope that the tempo would be maintained with the state of Lagos becoming the better for it. A good number of times you were reported to have been physically present, either at construction sites or areas or spots that were complained about, such as abandoned road projects or those that were virtually neglected as well as those lacking the necessary basic infrastructural amenities, in order to see things for yourself. To mention just one of those instances, our men in the field confirmed your presence at the Alimosho Local Government Area – the most populated local government area in the state, sometime ago, during which you had a parley with a number of stakeholders including representatives of the construction firms handling various projects in the area. Worthy of note was how you reportedly ordered that the ongoing construction work on Ipaja-Ayobo road, be completed within the next 3 months. Pertinent to mention too, is the fact that the construction work on the road in question, had been on for the past 3 years with no end in sight, causing untold hardship to road users who daily lose productive-hours in traffic jams. Most recently, you were quoted as saying that a sum of19 billion Naira has been earmarked for the construction of 120 roads across the state.

Whilst it’s not in our character to play the sycophant for anyone, we do not hold back in acknowledging and commending good works and so would want you to know that your administration’s commendable activities in some other equally important areas did go unnoticed. Precisely, we are aware that your government was able to commit a huge sum of N11billion to settling the inherited 4-year backlog of pensions and gratuities to pensioners and that you have embarked on fixing the debilitating ACME-WEMCO road by Chemiron junction that has been begging for attention for over eight years. We are equally not lost on the provision of new ambulances for the state’s general hospital, ambulances, vehicles and motorbikes, to facilitate the functions of the state’s Emergency Services and the Rapid Response Squard. Also appreciated is the repositioning of the state’s civil service for greater efficiency, with the appointment of new permanent secretaries and directors.

Also worthy of note is the new life, so to say, that have, of recent, been injected into the LASTMA, resulting in the notable improvement in its efficiency, as traffic laws are enforced with a renewed sense of commitment, making hitherto ruthless and reckless motorists become more conscious of the essence of decency and respect for traffic laws on our roads; a development that had translated into a sharp reduction in avoidable traffic jams and road crashes.

Your Excellency, whilst hoping that the spirit of industry with which you have taken off will remain alive, we urge you to give equal attention to other begging areas like dilapidated buildings and inadequate and substandard furniture and equipment in the various state-owned educational and health institutions.

Now that the rains are here and flooding becomes inevitable, we call on your government to do everything within its capability to tackle the problem proactively, taking cognizance of its destructive hazard to life and property. Recent declaration in the dailies that the Lagos State Government has warned residents of the state to prepare against flooding, resulting from heavy rainfall, starting from the month of October 2015. The statement quoted Mr Oluwatoyin Awosika, the Director, Public Enlightenment, Lagos State Ministry of Information, as assuring residents that the state has spent huge resources to make refuse collection cheap and affordable, adding that measures were already in place to relocate residents in case of flood disaster.

Flooding in Lagos is nothing new; it has always been a recurring decimal in the life of its residents during raining seasons. Sometimes it may be a flash flood and at other times, the flood may be severe. The truth is that any time it rains; the metropolis is always in trouble. While movement has been the herculean task for the commuters, residents are always at the receiving end. From the highbrow Lekki to IKoyi, to Victoria Island and the rest, residents in the downtown communities are the greatest victims.

Floods paralyze economic activities in the state. Major roads and even some linking roads are flooded causing hardship to motorists. When these roads were constructed, the companies that did the construction probably did not anticipate the problem. It has not only left several people homeless, destroyed properties and disrupted business activities, the floods ravaging communities in the state are also threatening to expose residents to an impending epidemic of cholera, diarrhea, malaria, skin infections and other water-borne diseases. It has also resulted in the destruction of infrastructures such as bridge, road, houses etc. (Please see the attached images of recent flooding in some parts of Lagos State)

Lagos State by virtue of its low lying character, effective solution to this problem, we believe, largely lies in the creation and regular maintenance of adequate drainage channels, with additional measures to control flood tides. Secondly, there is the need to develop a storm water drainage master plan for the entire Lagos; a regulatory framework for wetlands management, in order to track and regulate land use pattern of Lagos wetlands, to prevent erosion, storm water drainage channel blockages, encroachments and contraventions, needs to be put in place.

We would want your administration to look into the direction of those who are saddled with the oversight function over drainage and continual drainage, to take their job more seriously and always ensure that there is free flow of water at all times. Building and development of infrastructure designed for the prevention or limiting of floods as part of the ways to protect the population should enjoy some priority. Flooding, we dare say, is not supposed to be a perpetual thing the way your predecessor had always wanted Lagosians to accept it as normal. It certainly cannot be normal for flood to continue to wreck constant havoc on the people year-in, year-out; a lasting solution must be devised. And if forecast by meteorologists and other weather experts is anything to go by, the state is undoubtedly in for a hard time in the remaining part of 2015 and the early part of 2016.

We therefore appeal to your government to quickly embark on project that will reduce if not totally fix the issue of  flooding in the state as this would alleviate the hardship pain and loss that the majority of the people of Lagos experience during raining seasons. The environment remains our most valued possession and legacy which we must all strive to protect.

Meanwhile, we would like to humbly inform you that our coalition is compiling its data on the state of infrastructural development or lack of it in Lagos State. We shall, as the need arises, be making our findings available to you with a view to encouraging you to pay better attention to areas of inadequacies, if any.

Thanks for your anticipated cooperation and prompt response to complaints and suggestions from your subjects. This, we believe, is the best antidote to confrontation from the citizenry.

Yours, in the service to humanity.

Debo Adeniran
Executive Chairman, CACOL

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Governor Fashola had said that that if property owners made small sacrifices, housing provision would change for the better. He had also said that property owners are more privileged when compared to tenants. The Tenancy Law therefore seeks to protect the poor and underprivileged. He claimed “A society that cannot protect the underprivileged cannot protect the privileged” “Can we truly expect life to be normal and expect corruption to disappear if we continue to ask for two or three years rent advance? not many employees are paid their monthly salaries one year in advance” The Governor said. The law prohibits landlords or their agents from collecting more than six months rents from existing tenants in the state. The law, which regulates the relationship between landlords and tenants, prescribes a six-month jail term or a fine of N100, 000.00 for violators of its provisions. Other provisions of the tenancy law have to do with illegal ejection of tenants by landlords, who sometimes remove the roofs and doors to apartments, to force the tenants out. In such cases, the landlord will be jailed for six months, or made to pay a fine of N250, 000. Landlords please note!

How did we get to the stage of demanding multiple years of rent in advance? History will reveal that it was a simple reaction by landlords to the frustrations of recovering their premises promptly from defaulting tenants. So they chose to collect multiple yearly rents in advance to mitigate the risk. The law has done a lot to reduce and simplify the process of recovery of possession, simplifying the notice to quit and providing Alternative Dispute Resolution

Some important sections to the law:

Section 1, applies to business and residential premises in Lagos State, except those premises which are specifically exempted. This exemption includes properties in Apapa, Ikeja GRA, Ikoyi and Victoria Island, hospitals, emergency homes and residential premises owned or operated by educational institutions for staff and students. Very important! The law does not cover all areas in the State

Section 4, it shall be unlawful for a landlord or his agent to demand or receive from a sitting tenant rent that is in excess of 6months (in case of a monthly tenant) or 1 year in the case of a yearly tenant just as it also provided that it shall be unlawful for a sitting tenant to offer or pay rent in excess of 1 year for a yearly tenant and six months for a monthly tenant.

The law also provides in Section 4(3) that for new tenants, it shall be unlawful for a landlord or his agent to demand or receive rent in excess of 1 year in respect of any premises {outside the exempted areas} as this will constitute an offence for which anyone found guilty will be liable to a fine of N100, 000.00 or 3 months imprisonment”.

Section 11 of the Law states that Landlords must stop passing the cost of solicitors and agents to the tenant who is looking for a house, because after asking for two years rent, landlords also ask the tenant to pay landlord’s agent fees and the landlord’s lawyer’s fees who will make an agreement in favour of the landlord. The tenant has a right to engage his own lawyer. If he has to hire a lawyer to check the agreement for him, this means he has to pay his landlord’s lawyer’s fees and also pay his lawyer’s fees.

How has the Law performed up to date? Unfortunately, it appears the Law is not being followed to the letter in terms of responsibilities, collection of rent and reluctance to seek legal redress. The environment does not encourage this, there are stories abound of atrocities being committed by landlords and tenants who are still ignorant of the law or choose not to abide b it

It is true that this law will not on its own solve the housing problems, but it has the potential to seriously alter our way of life for good and reduce the needless pressures that we have to go through to get a decent place to live in. Let us hope that in time it will be followed better and understood by all.

Caroline A. Akinlotan

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