Oworonshoki: Demolished property illegal — Lagos commissioner

The Lagos State Government says property it recently demolished at  Oworonshoki were illegal and posed significant risks to the occupants.

The state Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Oluyinka Olumide, said this at a news conference at Alausa, Ikeja, on Wednesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that residents of Oworonshoki staged a protest on Monday, disrupting traffic flow on the Third Mainland Bridge.

The protest followed demolition of some buildings in their community.

The demolition was  targeted at unapproved structures on the Lekki and Oworonshoki coastal lines.

The commissioner told journalists that the property were  illegal.

He emphasised that engagements preceded the demolition,  contrary to claims that Lagos State Government did not give any notice before the demolition.

“We don’t disclose the time of enforcement, but the fact is that there is always engagement before any enforcement,” he said.

He expressed dissatisfaction at the cycle of squatter settlements on  coastal areas, where initial makeshift shelters evolved into concrete structures often involving illegal land sales by local claimants known as “omo onile”.

The commissioner highlighted dangers of unapproved structures, citing  examples where buildings without proper engineering became distressed and threatened lives.

According to him, when a building is marked as distressed, it means it is no longer suitable for habitation.

“It is a threat to life.”

He recalled an incident at Ebute Meta area of Lagos, where a distressed building collapsed and killed an 83-year-old man.

The commissioner outlined categories of structures that can be demolished in Lagos State to include structures under high-tension lines,  those on gas lines, buildings on drainage paths/setbacks, and  those without approval.

He added that  building on an informal or not-ready-to-use land owned by the state government would attract demolition.

“In the case of Iyano Oworo, they don’t even have approval; hence the demolition.

On possible compensation, Olumide said it would be wrong to use  taxpayers’ money to compensate illegal occupants.

“Should the government use tax payers’ hard-earned money to pay somebody for an illegal structure? Is that fair? No,” he said.

The commissioner advised members of the public to be vigilant when purchasing land to avoid building on unapproved land.

“Some of them claim to be local landowners, the so-called ‘omo onile’ and  say that their forefathers owned the place, and they start selling the land, which is illegal,” he said.

Olumide said there was the need to follow due process in land acquisition

He urged prospective buyers to verify the legitimacy of land titles and comply with planning regulations before buying to avoid losing their investments. (NAN)