Residents Resist Demolition Attempt

There was pandemonium at Fela Hamed street in Ikorodu West Local Council Development  Area, Lagos, southwest Nigeria recently when some hoodlums alleged to be members of the  National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, stormed the area with an earth moving  vehicle (Caterpillar) and wanted to demolish some houses, but the landlords and residents  resisted the attempt.

Speaking on the matter, the vice chairman of the Fela Hamed Community Development  Association, Mr. Matthew Eyarhouo, said a group of people who claimed to be members of  the NURTW, came with a notice board and erected it at the entrance to the street. The  group said they wanted to build a garage and a market in the area and almost immediately,  without any notice, started to demolish some houses.

“We were very surprised and asked them for the court order or authority their action was  based on. They claimed that they were from the Lagos State government, but we called the  council chairman in the area, he told us they knew nothing about the demolition. So we  called in the police, and they were able to arrest some of them, while the signboard was  removed and taken to the Owutu Police Station.

A resident, Mrs. Eunice Bello, proprietress of Stand Firm Nursery and Primary school,  said some of the hoodlums came into her school and ordered her to send out all the  children because they are about to demolish the building. She said she told them she  bought the land from the Coker family and that she had all the necessary documents, but  she said they got unruly and she alerted the chairman of the CDA, who called in the  police.

A representative of the Coker family, Mr. Bayo Balogun, told P.M.NEWS that the hoodlums  are joking, as the family knew nothing about the demolition. Secretary to the local  government, Ikorodu West LCDA, Hon. Shamsideen Onabokun, also dissociated the council  from the act and stated that the local government does not know anything about the  demolition.

Meanwhile, the police have arrested some of the hoodlums and commenced investigation into  the matter.