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Christopher Oji
Residents of Ifako community in Ggbaga area of Lagos have called on the state government to wade into what they described as tension brewing at Harmony Estate in the area.
The residents claimed that they were sitting on a keg of gunpowder ready to explode as people have started fighting over the real ownership of a 357 square meters property on 34 Abiodun Odeseye.
At the moment, the property, which is at its foundation level of construction, has been sealed owing to the attendant ruckus that greeted work on it.
A developer, Tunde Kehinde, who claimed he bought the land for N23 million, said he was at a loss on what to do, as the money with which he bought the land is yet to be refunded to him, neither was he allowed to continue construction on it.
Kehinde, who said he collected loan from the bank to buy the land six months ago, explained that his intention was to finish construction in three months and sell the building before the duration of payment of the loan.
He said: “I have done a few developments but never have I encountered any problem like this. When my attention was drawn to this land, I called my surveyor who picked up the coordinates of the land, went to the Survey General’s office, where it was cleared. We did other checks to authenticate the land before we made payment of about 23million.
“We started work immediately by establishing a foundation in order to take possession of the land. While on it, a man, who claimed to be a lawyer to the estate, came and started taking pictures of the site”.
“I have gone to beg some key members of harmony estate but they insisted I must leave the place, claiming that the land is owned by the estate. They told me to go and collect a refund of my money from the person I paid to.”
However, when the legal adviser to Harmony Estate Community Development Association, Mr. Kola Shodiya, who also doubles as the association’s vice-chairman, was contacted, he denied signing any document, posing as Oloruntoba.
