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Maduka Nweke
Residents of communities in Abiola Farm, Ayobo, Lagos, comprising about seven Community Development Associations (CDA), who claim they bought land legally in Ayobo have sent a ‘Save – Our – Soul’ call to the Lagos State government seeking protection.
The communities at a press conference organised to draw the attention of the state government, narratted how hoodlums invaded their communities on March 14, 2019 and wreaked havoc on the residents of the farm. They said the hoodlums, on the fateful day, chased people out of their homes put a lot of the buildings in the farm under lock and key, including churches.
Speaking on behalf of the seven CDAs, Mr. Richard Balogun said that about two women suffered miscarriages while school children sustained various levels of injury in a land to scamper to safety. According to him, the horror of the incident will never leave the communities for a while. He said that since they bought their plots of land legally, they will not stop at anything in their quest to retain their property. Since we bought our property from the right owners, we have no cause to worry. We shall meet them in the court of law,” he said.
An affected resident, who craved anonymity for safety reasons, was close to tears as she recalled how about 4,000 residents of the community, popularly known as Abiola Farm, were rudely woken up on that Thursday, March 14, 2019, when “over 10 buses loaded with thugs, gun-wielding mobile policemen and persons who claimed to be court bailiffs,” invaded the area saying they had come to enforce a court judgement.
In his own explanation, Mr. Ganiyu Rufai, the lead counsel for the residents, allayed the fears of the people. He said there is nothing to fear because the invaders failed to know that MKO Abiola is not the same thing as Radio Communication Nigeria Ltd (RCN).
“We have sent a letter to the office of the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, intimating him of the attempt by unscrupulous individuals to dispossess residents of Abiola Farms Community in Ayobo, Lagos, of their lands and property through a controversial ruling of a court obtained by fraud and impersonation.
“We have also sent similar letter to the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Alausa, Ikeja, attentioning the Lagos State Task Force on Land Grabbers. The letter is a Save Our Soul message to protect the communities from unlawful invasion and threat to lives and property by Mr. Leland Abiola and Mr. Jamiu Abiola.
One of the elders of the communities, Prince Ganiyu Olayiwola Dosumu, informed PropertyMart that the way the hoodlums invaded the area brought trauma to everyone. “I am especially happy that our youths did not challenge them because if they had done that, it would have been a different matter we will be discussing now. We acquired the land from RCN, a company owned by the late MKO Abiola but does not form part of Abiola Estate.”
Also speaking, Anibire Muslimat, the Coordinator of Abiola Progressive Estate CDA, said, “we now live with thugs as the hoodlums that invaded the communities on March 14 are still staying around. They now resort to extorting our people, raping our girls. Businesses are no longer going own as people now sleep with one eye while the other is wide open,” she said.
