Eviction order: Destiny plaza tenants send SOS to LASG

By Ifeanyi Eduzor

The relative peace being enjoyed by tenants and shop owners at Destiny Plaza, No 1 Solape Oworo Street,  Marcity Bus Stop, Ajao Road, Okota, Lagos has been disrupted following an  attempt by the Careteker, one  Amos Okpeta in connivance with officials of Lagos State Building Control Agency to forcefully eject them from the plaza housing about 50 shops and offices.

Representatives of the tenants, Messrs; Chijioke Uzowulu and Osita Ifedigbo said their problem with the caretaker started on February 26 this year when he informed them that the Lagos State Government has been demanding original  plan of the building from the landlord since according to them, the place was originally approved for residential building and not for business Area.

He informed them that  after series of meetings with the Government officials, the Landlord now decided to sell the place and that he has graciously given all the tenants six months notice that will expire on August 31 this year to vacate the property.

After the meeting, they requested to see the landlord to interface with him since they’ve not met him in person for the past 15 years they have been his tenants as the caretaker do not allow them to know the owner of the property.

They also reminded him that some people just packed into the plaza December last year and that it is morally wrong for him to rent out an apartment in December and come around after three months to issue quit notice to the occupants.

They further explained that they later consulted a Lawyer who wrote a letter to the landlord through the agent asking for two years grace considering that they’ve carried out a lot of repairs on the building at their own expense while some of them even volunteered to meet Lagos State Government officials to plead on their behalf which the agent turned down.

As discussions were still on- going, some officials who claim to be from Lagos State Building Control Agency came and put seven days notice on the wall which the agent removed immediately they left.

This prompted their Lawyer Barrister, Emmanuel Chukwu to visit the agency’s office at Alausa, Lagos State Government Secretariat  where he was informed that they did not send anybody to the building and that before any demolition could be carried out in the state, the order must come from the Director General of the agency after proper test has being carried out on the affected building.

They however promised to send their investigators to the property which they did with the agent taking them around the building. But it was later discovered that those who came for the illegal assignment were from the agency’s zonal office at Oshodi/Isolo.

According to them, after the investigators Left, they heaved a sigh of relieve but to their  greatest surprise, on Thursday , July, 21, three Hilux buses fully loaded with armed Police Men, thugs and Lagos State Government officials invaded the plaza armed with slegde hammer, chizels, cutting machines and other handtools breaking down walls, doors and keys and throwing their  property outside.

Some of them who attempted to video them with their telephone  cameras were mercilessly manhandled, arrested and had their phones seized and that’s why they  are now calling on the Lagos State Government to come to their  aid because the plaza has about 50 shops and more than a hundred people who get their daily bread there noting that they’ve  lost millions from this illegal and inhumane act.

“The whole thing was like a commando operation which we watch in videos. They came will many Police men and thugs, breaking our shops, cutting keys of shops that where locked, throwing our property outside. They even went to one office occupied by a Lawyer and ransacked the place telling him that this is not time to speak grammar.

“A female Lawyer who came to see her client was even arrested for confronting them just because she told them that what they’re doing is illegal and wanted to know under whose authority they were carrying out the order.

“Even some of us who tried to video them had our phones ceased and arrested and the worst is that they did not even spare new tenants because there is a woman who just rented a shop here last December and another man who just finished renovating his own shop and we believe this is inhuman and illegality taken too far as we cannot quantify the trauma, psychological effect, damage and loss we incured”, they lamented.

They further stated that after the unfortunate incident, their lawyer wrote a petition to the Police Area Commander in Mushin who ordered for the arrest of the estate agent and in the course of Police investigation, it was discovered that the landlord approved that the tenants should be given a grace of one year to vacate the property and also gave the agent, Amos Okpeta the sum of N 6.4 million to settle the tenants but he went and conived with fake  government officials to carry out Illegal eviction.

The tenants are now demanding that the agent should be made to face the full weight of the law and to be given at least one year grace period to vacate since according to them, they are not dragging the property with the landlord but just want the rule of law to prevail.

They wondered why people should be treated in their own country in such a babaric way in this 21st century.

Efforts to get the reaction of the agent was not successful as he is still under detention at Police Area Command Mushin as at the time of filing this report.