Tension is rising in Surulere Estate, located in Agbado/Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State, as residents allege ongoing demolitions and extortion by suspected land grabbers popularly known as “omo onile.”
A resident, James Chinedu (not real name), raised the alarm over what he described as two weeks of terror in the community. According to him, armed thugs accompanied by security operatives have been moving from house to house demanding N15 million from each property owner to halt the destruction.
“Our area has been terrorised for the past two weeks by ‘omo onile’ and thugs accompanied by police officers. They’re requesting each house pays N15.1 million for them to stop destroying houses and properties,” he said.
Chinedu disclosed that the estate’s landlord association reported the matter to the (FHA), which allegedly clarified that it did not authorise any demolition in the area. Despite this, the destruction has reportedly continued.
“They are still causing havoc even as FHA has confirmed they didn’t authorise the demolition. The Lagos State task force are accompanying these miscreants to carry out the demolition,” he alleged.
He further claimed that efforts to obtain a court injunction to restrain the alleged leader of the group have been repeatedly delayed.
“Our attempts to push for an injunction against the demolition are being frustrated. The injunction keeps getting delayed, with no date of hearing,” he said, questioning the effectiveness of the justice system.
Another resident, Tope Oluremi (not real name), corroborated the claims, stating that hundreds of hoodlums stormed the area in late January, accompanied by police officers and other officials.
“On January 26, some hoodlums came with about 300 boys and some policemen. They said the government had given them an order of possession of the land,” she recounted.
She alleged that the group immediately began pulling down fences, breaking walls, cutting electricity cables, dismantling estate gates, and vandalising shops.
“Before you know it, they started pulling out people’s fences, cutting light and selling the wires, breaking shops and ripping off roofs,” she said.
Oluremi also claimed residents were threatened against recording the incidents and alleged that security operatives present did not intervene.
Efforts to get assistance from local authorities, she added, have yielded no result, leaving residents fearful and uncertain about the safety of their homes and properties.
