Complete Duplex was Demolished in Lagos Over Permit

Four property owners at Hitech Estate, Odonikin
village, in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area, Lagos
State, say they have been thrown into debts after
officials of the state government demolished four
newly-completed buildings in the area.
The affected structures comprised five joint duplexes,
a four-bedroomed duplex, a five-bedroomed
apartment and a three-storeyed building owned by a
private school – Learning Lands.
Although the buildings were reportedly destroyed
because the owners did not get necessary permits to
embark on the constructions, the victims said the
government failed to give them prior notices before
the buildings were brought down.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the demolition was carried
out last Friday by officials of the state Ministry of
Physical Planning and Urban Development, who were
accompanied by policemen from the Lagos State Task
Force on Environmental and Special Offences
(Enforcement) Unit.
Some of the landlords, who spoke with our
correspondent on Wednesday, said they had
petitioned the state Ministry of Physical Planning
and Urban Development on the incident without
getting any positive response.
One of them, Mrs. Augustina Daniel, said, “I got a call
around 11am last Friday that bulldozers were
destroying houses. I rushed to the scene with my
husband. Our building, comprising five joint
duplexes, worth N200m, was brought to the ground
in our presence. We met with the officials, but none
of them talked to us.
“We went to the Ministry of Physical Planning and
Urban Development on Monday with our survey plans
and we were told to submit them and leave. They
also told us that the buildings were demolished
because we did not have a building permit.
“We wrote a letter to the commissioner on Tuesday
and it was not acknowledged. If a house is to be
demolished, a notice should be given; we didn’t get
that. The information we have is that the demolition
was done because there are people in that area who
have interest in those pieces of land.”
Mr. Omomega Ashofor, whose residence was also
demolished, said he had spent about N70m to put up
the structure and asked that he should be
compensated for the damage.
He said, “Mine was a fully detached four-bedroomed
duplex. I was planning to paint the building so that
in two months’ time, my family and I could move in. I
have spent about N70m on it so far. It was a
neighbour that alerted me to the demolition. With the
supervision of armed policemen, the structure was
brought down within an hour.
“They are supposed to serve us notices if there is
any contravention and give us time to respond. But
none of that was done. There has never been a time
that a stop-work order was given to us. I want
compensation for the damage. This is a property
involved, not just money, but emotional input.”
Austine Kazeem, who said he planned to move into
his five-bedroomed flat this month, said, “I am based
abroad. If any notice had been issued to me, I would
have gone to the ministry to sort it out.”
Efforts to speak with the Lagos State Commissioner
for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde,
proved abortive as calls put across to his line did not
connect. He had also yet to respond to a text
message sent to his phone since Wednesday.
However, the spokesman for the Lagos State Task
Force on Environment and Special Offences
(Enforcement) Unit, Mr. Adebayo Taofiq, said officials
of the agency only gave security backing for officials
of the ministry.
He said notices must have been served on the
aggrieved persons at different stages of the
constructions without compliance before the
buildings were brought down.
“Task force only gave security back up to the
government agency responsible for the demolition.
The fundamental question is why didn’t they obtain a
building plan approval before construction? Such
development is illegal and no responsible
government will tolerate illegality.
“Government doesn’t just wake up and carry out
demolition. First, the building would be marked with
red ‘X’. After the ‘X’, a stop-work order will be
served. If the owner of such property refuses to show
up with relevant papers, which include a building
plan approval, government will serve another notice
which is a demolition notice.
“Lagos State has a master plan and once such is
violated, the illegal structure will be removed,” he
said.