By Beifoh Osewele and Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Who owns the Landmark and Oniru Beaches in Victoria Island, Lagos? This is one poser that may take a long time to resolve. Indeed, a fresh layer has been added to the raging controversy which peaked with the commencement of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway with the management of South Energyx joining the fray.
In April, the Federal Government rolled earth-movers to the beach to remove encumbrances on the Right-of-Way of the massive N15 trillion 700km highway. Following the demolition, Mr. Paul Onwuanibe, Group CEO of Landmark accused the government of unfair treatment alleging that the pathway was deliberately altered from Corporation Road, the original alignment to his beachfront, to shortchange him.
Writing on X from Landmark Africa, the parent company of the beach, he said: “What we built in six years was destroyed in six hours…”
Speaking on a live television programme, he stated: “The original alignment of the coastal road was Water Corporation Road. I mean, you had the picture on your screen, and it showed quite clearly the Water Corporation Road, the two feeder lanes, and then the medium that was meant to house it.
“Then there’s Landmark, and there’s the beach, and there’s the sea. The alignment was changed from Water Corporation Road… so instead of it running on the land side of Landmark, it’s going to run on the beach side of Landmark.”
But the Federal Government did not allow the accusation to pass as it challenged him to show proof that the beach belonged to him. At the second meeting with parties affected by the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, held in Lagos, the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, argued that the shoreline affected by the Lagos-Calabar coastal road never belonged to the Landmark Africa Group. He claimed that its Chief Executive Officer sublet it to people illegally.
While the works minister insisted that Landmark’s infrastructure was unaffected, he accused him of “playing politics with politicians.”
“Mr President says that this development must have two factors. One is the fear of God, and the second is human face, and that’s what we have tried to do.
“Since we came on Thursday, we have been going through the route every day from morning to about 8pm or 9pm. We’ve made hard decisions. In some cases, we have followed the gazetted routes. In other cases, we have realigned to the coastal line, majorly. And the coastal line from the shore, 250 metres by the Supreme Court judgment, belongs to the federal government.
“I talk in particular about Landmark. There is none of his infrastructure that is affected. I agree that there are some people he subleased the place to, but the shoreline was never given to him by the Oniru family. These people he sublet to, he erected some caravans, makeshifts, so on and so forth within the shoreline. So, we are dealing with these people who sublet the shoreline illegally,” Umahi said.
The minister challenged Landmark to provide documentation to lay claims to the shorelines.
“I have asked him to bring his documents. I challenge him and his co-politicians; let him flash the documents before the press,” he said.
Speaking to journalists in Lagos, Mr. Larry Akanbi, assistant public relations officer of Southern Energyx, argued that the various portions of land measuring 182,442 square metres illegally occupied by Landmark Beach Resort and others, formed part of the larger expanse of land measuring 1,037.763 hectares of land which is subject of a Statutory Right of Occupancy granted Southern Energyx by the governor of Lagos State to reclaim the lost land, construct the Great Wall of Lagos and build the Eko Atlantic City. Southern Energyx Nigeria Limited is the developer of Eko Atlantic City.
He said the company relied on both the Certificate of Occupancy No.96/96/2007J dated 30 March 2007 as well as the maps and drawings delineating the 182,442 square metres for its claim
“It is a huge surprise that BB Landmark is weeping over what does not belong to it. It is giving the impression that it is a victim when it is actually an encroacher.”
As much as Akanbi agreed that Corporation Way was the original alignment, he also said Southern Energyx was actually the victim and not the aggressor as being portrayed by the public and the management of Landmark Beach Resort.
“Corporation Way was truly the original alignment they wanted to use but, if they start from this end, by the time they get to where Queen Event Centre is, the effect of demolition would be more massive than what they have now. They now said okay, there would be lesser demolition.
“In fact, there is hardly any serious demolition right now in the sense that what has happened really is not like any of the structure of the Landmark is affected. What has been consumed is the beach.
“What the federal government has even done now is to save some of the structures because they said that if they go by their own original alignment, it will consume part of the Event Centre and the mall.
“The road was bent to the extent that it encroached part of sand filled and reclaimed land for Eko Atlantic City. We lost N87 billion worth of land to the road project.”
He also posited that if the beach had not been affected by the Lagos -Calabar Coastal Highway project, it would definitely be taken over by Eko Atlantic City project, when work gets to the location.
He said the management of the company decided to state its own side of the story in order to correct the impression of people out there about Landmark Beach’s demolition.
“What we are trying to do is to put our own facts out to let people know our own side of the story, that we are not enforcing anybody.
“In fact, if anything, we are the one that is the victim because before now, all of them have been enjoying Oniru beach, Landmark beach. It is our land they have been enjoying. Ideally they should be paying us.”
He said his company had in 2022 written Landmark‘s management and other occupants of the beach front to leave, but they refused, describing the ongoing construction of 700- km Lagos-Calabar Road project as an “intervening event.”
Akanbi said the Lagos State Government gave the land to the company for reclamation when the state had the challenge of the beach overflow or ocean surge.
“Now our position is that the Lagos State Government gave us land for reclamation when it had the challenge of the beach overflow. I think they gave it for 78 years and after that, it goes back to the state government,” he said.
The Southern Energyx image maker said that in 2013, there was nothing like a beach at the location, going by the Google image until 2018 when sand started settling there as a result of the reclamation being done for Eko Atlantic City.
“If you go on Google app, it will show that up to 2018, that beach did not exist at all. It was 2018 we saw progressively when we were doing reclamation. The sand started settling there before he started his business on it,” he said.
Indeed, fresh facts available to Daily Sun have revealed that though the controversy gained traction with the commencement of the Coastal Highway, legal cases challenging Landmark’s occupation of the property had been ongoing for a while.
One of the suits was filed by the chambers of Olasupo Shasore, SAN, Africa Law Practice NG & Co. on behalf of South Energyx Nigeria Ltd. at the High Court of Lagos State, Lagos Judicial Division presided over by Hon. Justice (Dr.) R.O Olukolu and marked LD/6232GCM/2022. It listed H.R.M ABDUL-WASIU OMOGBOLAHAN LAWAL (ABISOGUN II- ONIRU OF IRULAND) (The Family Head of Oniru Chieftaincy Family of Lagos State), CHIEF WASIU OGUNBAMBI, (Olisa of Iruland/Principal member of the Abisogun Ruling House of Oniru Chieftaincy Family of Lagos State) and Chief Abayomi Daramola (Balogun of Iruland/Principal member of the Ogunyemi Ruling House of Oniru Chieftaincy Family of Lagos State). Other defendants are Chief Rasaq Aromire (Olowa of Iruland/Principal member of the Akiogun Ruling House of Oniru Chieftaincy Family of Lagos State) [for themselves as Head and Principal Members and on behalf of the Oniru Chieftaincy Family] and BB Landmark Realty Ltd.
The claimant is accusing the defendants of unlawful encroachment and possession. A deposition by Johnny Kallas, Senior Project Manager and Head of the Survey Department said South Energyx was granted a Statutory Right of Occupancy over all that parcel of land measuring 1,037.763 Hectares being reclaimed real estate on which the Eko Atlantic City is being built.
According to Kallas, sometime in August and September 2022, Energy received credible information that the defendants had encroached on massive portions of the Eko Atlantic City.
“By virtue of my office, I immediately commissioned an investigation and a site visit to the alleged areas of encroachment and my reports confirmed that indeed the Defendants encroached on massive portions of the Eko Atlantic City land.
“I know that by reason of the undeveloped nature of that part of Lagos State, it is not possible to identify the parcel of land encroached upon and illegally occupied by these defendants using beacons to demarcate the boundaries. Instead, we had to use the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate system, a simple cartographic convention used to determine coordinates and areas using Northing and Eastings.”
He said using the UTM coordinate system, their findings revealed that the parcel of land encroached upon and illegally occupied measured about 182,442 m2 out of the 1,037.763 hectares of land subject of a statutory right of occupancy granted to the claimant by the governor of Lagos State….
“Our team of surveyors also took photographs which show that massive development projects are being undertaken on the encroached and illegally occupied land…”
In another suit, South Energyx has asked a Federal High Court to order BB Landmark Realty Limited to pay N20 million per week as compensation for occupation of its Landmark Beach from 2018 till judgment day.
In a suit marked FHC/L/CS/802/24, the plaintiff is further pressing for an order of the Lagos division of the court to mandate BB Landmark to pay 21 percent interest on any such sum as may be accessed by the court as due and payable by the company to the plaintiff from the date of instituting the suit to judgment and until satisfaction of same by the defendant.
In the said suit filed by Dr. Muiz Banire, South Energyx Nigeria Limited equally prayed the court to make an order directing BB Landmark Beach Realty to pay N20 million being the legal fee it had incurred in the legal action.
Also joined as co-defendant in the suit is the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The plaintiff told the court in its originating summons that it was the holder of the right of occupancy for the large expense of land known and referred to as Eko Atlantic City which is covered by the Certificate of Occupancy dated March 30, 2007 and registered as No: 96 of page 96 in volume 2007j.
“That the Lagos State government had granted a statutory right of occupancy over all the parcels of land measuring 1,307.763 hectares for the purpose of reclaiming the lost land and constructing the great wall of Lagos and building the Eko Atlantic city.
“That the Lagos State government acted pursuant to its powers under the Land Use Act 1978, Cap L5, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004.”
It insisted that the statutory right of occupancy over the Eko Atlantic City land is evidenced by a certificate of occupancy dated March 20, 2007 and registered as No: 96 of page 96 in volume 2007j, together with the supplemental deed registered as No: 36 at page 36 in volume 2282 commencing from July 7, 2006 for a term of 78 years.
It is the case of the plaintiff that BB Landmark Realty Limited is aware that the strip of sandy land which it is illegally using for economic purpose described as “Landmark Beach” forms part of and falls within “Eko Atlantic City.”
The affidavit read further: “That the 2nd defendant is generating a minimum of 20,000 visitors per week at an access fee of N2,500.00 per person since the year 2018 till date.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
Delving into the historical background, he said: “Since the beginning of the last century, historical records have indicated that sand and sedimentary materials along the coast of the region of West Africa have been transported from West to East by ocean currents through a process known as a littoral drift. Over time, interruptions to the littoral drift appeared in the form of river dams, major port developments, and other coastal disruptions such as shipwrecks. These interruptions resulted in large sand deposits in some areas and the extensive erosion of land in other areas.
“In the specific case of Lagos State – which is already historically disadvantaged by virtue of being the State with the largest population and smallest landmass in Nigeria – the genesis of the interruption to the littoral drift came with the construction of the rock moles at the entrance to the Port of Lagos. Before the moles were built, large vessels delivering goods to Lagos were required to drop anchor some distance offshore due to the shallow waters in the Commodore Channel, which meant that smaller vessels had to be dispatched to the larger vessels anchored offshore before cargoes could be conveyed to the Lagos Port. This was a painstakingly tedious and extremely inefficient exercise that disincentivised shippers and business owners from doing business in Lagos.
“In order to improve access to the Port of Lagos and to expand trade and economic growth, sometime in 1902, the Government of the Colony of Lagos engaged marine engineers to build two moles, the East and West Moles to allow for the dredging of the Commodore Channel and ultimately allow larger vessels to enter the Port of Lagos. Construction of the two moles began in 1905 and was completed in 1912, thereby making it possible for larger trade ships to freely enter and exit the Port of Lagos and discharge their cargo directly.
“This development and extension of the Port of Lagos greatly increased the volume of trade through this vital new trade hub and played a major role in establishing Lagos as one of the major economies on the African continent. Unfortunately, the extension did not come without adverse consequences.
“The construction of these moles interrupted the littoral drift as sand and sedimentary materials which were previously deposited on the shores of Victoria Island and Lekki were now trapped on the West side of the Port of Lagos. This also led to erosion to the East of the Commodore Channel, which was what used to be commonly known as Bar Beach and the coastline of the Lekki Peninsula. By 2005, about a century after the construction of the two moles, the erosion of the coastline of Lagos State had reached cataclysmic heights, leaving the State in general, and Victoria Island in particular, directly exposed to heavy ocean surges.
“In the same 2005, Lagos State Government (or “LASG”) proved that 2 kilometres depth of beachfront, i.e., the entirety of Bar Beach had been lost to erosion leaving Victoria Island directly exposed to heavy ocean surges and with no protection from the Atlantic Ocean. This posed a severe threat to the residents, businesses, and properties in Lagos State, especially within Victoria Island and Lekki areas of the State. Indeed, prior to its erosion, the Lagos Bar Beach had developed a reputation for periodically overflowing its banks and claiming lives and property.
“In particular, the coastal city of Victoria Island in Lagos was in imminent danger of being overwhelmed by ocean surge from the Atlantic Ocean. The coastal road, Ahmadu Bello Way, had collapsed into the ocean after the adjacent Bar Beach had completely eroded.
“Further, the resulting substantial flooding forced adjacent businesses and homes to be abandoned, due to the danger it posed to the lives and livelihoods of residents in Victoria Island. With time, it became obvious that if action was not taken, and urgently too, millions of square meters of developed land would be lost to the ocean forever. With the threat posed to this key financial centre of Lagos, urgent remedial actions had to be taken.
“In its efforts to comprehensively address the above situation and repair the damage caused to the Lagos coastline, LASG issued a call for solutions from different stakeholders. In response to this request from LASG, the Claimant submitted a proposal which envisaged (i) the reclamation of the lost land belonging to Lagos State; (ii) the construction of the Great Wall of Lagos, a sea revetment mechanism to protect the new City as well as Victoria Island from the threat of flooding due to ocean surge; and (iii) the construction of a new city, to be known as Eko Atlantic City, on the reclaimed land, all at no financial cost to the government.”