Residents of the Millennium City Centre Estate in the Gbagada area of the Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State are in a panic mode over the invasion of the estate by armed thugs and alleged land grabbers allegedly working for a family.
It was gathered from the residents that the invasion had become a reoccurring incident for a decade and that various factions of the five families, Oyedele Ashamu, Antonio Miranda, Atunrase, Alashe and Odutola, claiming ownership of the land, usually come to the estate to accuse residents of illegal occupation and demand that they should repurchase the land.
They alleged that members of the Alashe family recently invaded the estate with armed thugs and pasted posters claiming ownership around the estate, adding that the thugs were stationed at various locations to intimidate residents.
The Chairman of the estate residents’ association, Soji Adeniji, said that residents bought land from five different families and that various factions of the families had been coming at intervals to harass them.
He said, “The land is being contested by about five families. We have Emmanuel Oyedele Ashamu, Antonio Miranda, Atunrase, Alashe and Odutola families. These families have various factions among them. This is the situation we have found ourselves. They come at different times with the police, almost every three years, to invade our properties and endanger our lives. They all parade a document laying claim to the same piece of land. Residents didn’t buy land from one family; we bought from different families.
“Our security is uppermost. We can’t have bandits, touts and thugs among us with the situation of things in Nigeria. They don’t come with any court injunction. They just come to harass and intimidate us. The families are supposed to sort themselves out and not to invade our homes with thugs.”
A civil servant, Babatunde Adeleke, said that he had paid for his plot of land three times to different persons and called on the state government to intervene in the matter.
When contacted, the Alashe family lawyer, Monsurudeen Badiru, was unreachable.
