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Dear Counsel, I live and work in Stockholm, Sweden. Three years ago, I sent money to my elder brother to help acquire a plot of land in Lagos, which I intended to develop into a residential apartment for my use whenever I am on vacation in Nigeria. He promptly purchased a piece of land Oworonshoki area of Lagos.
As I send you this email, the property is still at foundation level, all because of so-called ‘omo oniles’ who have refused my brother to continue work on the
land, except he pays a huge sum of money to them. They were paid when the foundation was being dug, and they continue to demand for more money. To make matters worse, they are up to three sets of thugs that show up at the place, each time bricklayers come to do the work. We have reported to the police, and there is still no solution.
Please, what can we do? The project is delayed, and the cost of building materials, keeps rising by the day.
X.X, Stockholm, Sweden.
Dear X.X., This has been the menace, which prospective property owners have gone through in Lagos, for decades, until 2016, when the State passed a law prohibiting land grabbing and its related activities.
The law, which is known as the Property Protection Law, 2016, also established a Task force on Land grabbers.
This law and its supporting machinery, were put in place in order to curb the nefarious activities of land grabbers, who had until the enactment of the law continued to perpetrate a reign of terror on the people of the State. The law states in Section 2(1), that –
“As from the commencement of the law, no one shall use force or self-help to take over any landed property or engage in any act inconsistent with the proprietary right of the owner in the State. Furthermore, subsection two states that, persons who have used force to take over the properties of others and still do so after 3 months from the date of commencement of the law commit an offence. Anyone who commits such offence is liable to ten (10) years imprisonment.
It also provides that, anyone without lawful authority, who applies threats or violence to secure entry into any landed property for personal use, commits an offence. Regardless of if the entry is lawful, it does not give a right to use threats or violence, and anyone who commits the offence shall be liable to 10 (ten) years imprisonment.
I advice that, you submit a written complaint to the office of the Lagos State Special Task Force Against Land Grabbers at the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, and make a copy of your complaint available to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, who is quite proactive and responsive. Note also, that, since the law was passed two years ago, the activities of these miscreants has been reduced, to a large extent.