Property owners in Lagos State have decried the unnecessary demolition and illegal seizure of their properties by the Babajide Sanwo-Olu government for the construction of the Lekki Regional Road project.
The 8.75kilometr-long road will
link the Lekki-Epe expressway at Victoria Garden City (VGC) junction to Freedom
Way in Eti-Osa, on the island of Lagos State.
The property owners are aggrieved because
the State Government did not enter into any form of consultation with them
before their properties were seized and destroyed, a situation that was
extended to already occupied properties by the state’s contractor, Hi-Tech
Construction Company.
The wanton seizure of legally
acquired properties, with valid titled documents and government consent,
according to the owners, negates the principles of fairness from a
democratically elected government, whose duty it is to protect lives and properties
of citizens, and in any action, to follow due process.
Also, many of the landowners were
deceived to believe they will be engaged in negotiation, with the State
Government fixing meetings that their officials did not attend, only for
Hi-Tech Construction Company, the state’s contractor, to start demolishing
people’s fences and occupied properties.
This action, according to them,
amount to inexcusable use of power by a democratically elected governor, who it
is within its purview to ensure peace and security of lives and properties.
They have vowed to defend their
rights in court, in line with Section 2 of the 2016 Lagos State Properties
Protection Law which posits that the use of force or self-help or any act
inconsistent with the proprietary right of the owner to take over any landed
property has been prohibited.
The property owners also pointed
out Section 43 and 44(1) of the 1999 Constitution which stipulates the rights
to own property and also the prohibition of seizure of property without legal
authority and provision for compensation.
It is a known fact that the government
has the right to make use of property within the state for developmental
reasons, but the onus is still on the Sanwo-Olu led administration to also take
into full consideration the interest of property owners to ensure adequate
compensation before confiscation.
A visit by our correspondent last
week saw properties being destroyed and fences being pulled down, including
those occupied without recourse to due process.
The landowners expressed
grievances with the conduct of the Lagos State Government which did not address
their plight as citizens while trying to lessen the sufferings of road users
along that axis.
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