Lagos to dethrone land grabbing traditional rulers

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Lagos State Government on Thursday vowed to dethrone any traditional ruler who engaged in land grabbing and other illegal activities.

Coordinator, Lagos State Taskforce on Land Grabbing, Jide Bakare disclosed this at a sensitization programme on the Lagos State Properties Protection Law 2016, organized by the Office of Civic Engagement.

Bakare, who spoke at the event held at the Lagos State Government Secretariat, in Alausa, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, said it was clearly stated in the law that any traditional ruler who engaged in illegal activities of land grabbing would be dethroned.

He said some high profile land grabbers had been arrested and being currently prosecuted, saying that government was determined to ensure that people who acquired properties were protected from activities of land grabbers.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Civic Engagement, Kehinde Joseph said before now, property acquisition in the state was a nightmare, while acquiring land from land holding families, communities and individuals was fraught with fear and uncertainty.

“People could not be sure of safety of their properties as forceful takeover and fraudulent conduct became the order of the day. The ‘Omo Onile’ syndrome was a wide spread.

“Many communities were ransacked and property wantonly destroyed while government acquired land, were not spared as such were trespassed with impunity. There is no gainsaying the fact that a lot of people lost their lives as a result of this brigandage. People were denied the enjoyment of their property which they acquired through their hard-earned money,” he said.

Joseph said the above scenarios informed the reason why the State Properties Protection Law was passed by the State House of Assembly and signed into law by the governor in 2016.

To ensure the effectiveness of the law, he said Governor Akinwunmi Ambode set up the taskforce on land grabbing to deal with actions of individuals or groups that might be on the wrong side of the law.

“As citizens, it is our civic responsibility to obey the law as ignorance of the law is no excuse. The State will not hesitate to wield the big stick against law breakers as such people are undesirable in our communities. Our people deserve to live peacefully and enjoy their property. Anything short of this is not acceptable to the Lagos State Government,” he added.

Joseph also appealed to land owners in the state to take advantage of the reforms on perfecting title documents of land in the state, as it is easier and faster now to obtain these documents.