The vast highbrow Magodo GRA (Phase 2) has been shut down by protesting residents since the early hours of this morning. People have not been able to move in or out of the estate following the protest by residents in relation to a Supreme Court judgment and efforts by one Adeyiga family and the Shangisha Landlords Association to take over fully developed properties on 549 plots of land in the GRA.
The situation stemmed from a case between the Shangisha Landlords and the Lagos State Government that has reportedly been ongoing since the 1980s. The Shangisha Landlords Association gained a court order from the Supreme Court, mandating the State Government to return 549 plots of land to their original custodians.
Truckloads of policemen, bailiffs and thugs numbering about 100 stormed the estate yesterday afternoon to begin executing the judgment of the supreme court. The immediate response of the residents has been to completely lock down the estate, while they await the intervention of the state government and other stakeholders in the matter. Residents and workers alike have been prevented from entering or exiting the estate, and all gates have been under lock. The numbers gathered around the points of entry have already reached multiples of hundreds and steadily increase as the day advances.
A trader within the premises, who chose to be anonymous, disclosed that vans filled with touts and armed policemen stormed the estate yesterday. According to him, one of the touts sent a threat to the landlord of a building, stating expressly that the real owners of the lands are coming to demolish the building, and all the others in the estate.
Yesterday night, a memo was circulated to the members of the Magodo area, informing them of the restriction of movement to be effected today. It read, “Please be reminded that due to the planned protest tomorrow 22nd December 2021 as agreed by residents this night in the Estate of the recent police invasion, there will be a total closure of both Shangisha and Secretariat gates effective 6am. There will be NO going out and coming into the estate. ALL RESIDENTS PLEASE BE ADVISED and join the protest at both gates.”
The situation is still unravelling, and The Journal will offer more details and keep readers updated.