Residents panic as bulldozers move to demolish houses at Magodo estate in Lagos

Officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), on Tuesday evening, besieged the phase two of Magodo estate in Lagos state in what appears to be a move to demolish some houses in the highbrow estate.

Residents alleged that the police officers accompanied some youths who appeared to be hoodlums into the estate to start marking some houses in the area for demolition.

A resident told TheCable that an inscription which reads “ID/795/88 possession taken today 21/12/2021 by court order” has been marked on over 300 houses in the estate.

Amid the police siege, many residents came out of the estate’s gate to resist what they described as forceful takeover and attempt to demolish houses in the area.

When TheCable reached out to Adekunle Ajisebutu, Lagos police spokesperson, for comments he said he is not aware of police presence in the estate but asked the reporter to reach out later.

The police invasion of the estate may be connected to the lingering court case involving the state government and members of the Shangisha Landlords Association.

Since 1982, the state government and members of the Shangisha Landlords Association have been involved in a legal battle involving plots of land in Magodo.

The supreme court, in its ruling, ordered the state government to give members of Shangisha Landlords Association 549 plots of land as a matter of first priority in the area.

Since the supreme court verdict, residents of the estate have been facing threats of demolition of their houses.

In 2017, residents of the estate raised the alarm over an alleged plot by 1,000 armed men to invade the estate.

The residents’ association, had on several occasions, complained that landlords in Magodo were being harassed for a case they were not a party to.

RESIDENTS TRAPPED AT HOME AS ESTATE GATES LOCKED 

As of the time of filing this report, residents of Magodo estate phase two were trapped in the estate as all entry and exit points of the estate had been locked.

Those planning to go to their place of work are currently stranded inside the estate as there is no human and vehicular movement allowed in and out of the estate.

A resident told TheCable that the gates of the estate were locked by the residents’ association to avoid hoodlums and bulldozers from entering to demolish houses.