Caught in the crossfire: How decades-old land dispute left Lagos families homeless

land ownership dispute between some families in the Ojokoro area of Lagos State has simmered for over two decades. However, recent events have pushed the conflict to a breaking point. The latest fallout from the dispute – demolitions of homes and religious centres – has left many residents of the Olabode and Igbajo communities homeless, deepening concerns over Lagos’ housing crisis, JOHNSON IDOWU writes

On December 7, 2024, the early morning calm of Olabode and Igbajo was shattered when a group of armed thugs stormed the community. Witnesses reported that the men, numbering as around 200, were armed with sledgehammers and crowbars. Their mission was clear—demolish homes, churches, and mosques in what they claimed was an enforcement of a court order.

For Adebari Ijaduola, a resident of the Olabode community, the day marked the beginning of a nightmare.

“My wife called me that morning,” he recounted. “She said some people were destroying our house. I rushed home, only to find men tearing down my building. I pleaded with them to stop, but they ignored me.”

By the time the dust settled, some buildings had been reduced to rubble while others were partially demolished.

The implication was clear: the lands occupying these homes now legally belonged to another entity. But for residents who had lived peacefully in the communities for years, some for decades, the sudden displacement felt like an ambush.

Many were left with nowhere to go. Some elderly residents remained behind, huddled amid the debris while others left the communities, unsure of where they would sleep next.

Demolition without notice

Speaking with our correspondent in an interview during a visit to the communities, Ijaduola, disclosed that some thugs had invaded the community on December 7, 2024, and began demolishing houses while stating that they got a judgment to take possession of the land.

The visibly sick Ijaduola narrated that the incident had rendered many of the house owners homeless while some persons lost their lives. He alleged that the monarch of the communities, Oba Rilwan Oluwalambe Taiwo, Olu of Ojokoro, was responsible for the demolition.

He said, “It was my wife that called me on a Saturday morning while I had gone on a stroll, that some people were destroying our house. When I got home, I saw the Bashorun of Ojokoro who led some thugs to carry out the demolition. I asked him why they were doing that, and he said they had received a court judgment granting possession of the land to them.

“All my pleas for them not to demolish my house fell on deaf ears as they were also violent and ready to attack anyone that came near them. I became sick after the incident, and I was hospitalised. It is just like sleeping outside with the way they left my building.

“They have since been coming around to measure our lands, and they said anyone who wants to retain his/her land should pay N30m per plot, and I don’t know where to get such an amount. I have been living here for over 18 years without any issue from anyone.”

The treasurer of the Community Development Association, Akin Rotimi, said it took the intervention of the community leaders to forestall a breakdown of law and order after the thugs, who numbered about 200, became violent.

He corroborated Ijaduola’s claim that the monarch had requested them to pay N30m per plot as a repurchasing fee, which he stressed many of the house owners could not afford because they are retirees and elderly persons.

“I have been living here since 1987, peacefully with other members of the community, until November 22, 2024, when some thugs invaded our community and began to write a possession order on the buildings.

“On December 7, they came with thugs numbering about 200 and invaded our community and started to demolish buildings. They took some of us to the police station, where the monarch was threatening us that he would take over our land. Several people have left and become homeless because they do not have a place to stay.’

He added that they were never informed of any court case, neither were they a party to any suit that the monarch was laying claim to, stressing that the community instituted a case after they had continued to encroach on their lands.

 “Most of us here are retirees,” Rotimi lamented. “Where do they expect us to get that amount? We have lived here for decades. How can they just show up and claim ownership of our land?”

A prophetess whose church was demolished by the thugs and who identified herself as Prophetess Adewale told our correspondent that in the 19 years of her stay in the community, she was never privy to any court case that could have threatened her peaceful living in the community.

She narrated that living in the community has been a peaceful experience because members of the community lived like families while claiming that the shock of the demolition had caused some house owners to lose their lives.

Everything happened so suddenly,” she said. “No prior warning, no notice, nothing. We woke up one day, and our homes were being pulled down.”

In her reaction, a resident of the Igbajo community, Mrs Onifade, narrated that an attempt to negotiate with the monarch proved abortive as he insisted that each plot of land would be resold for N30m or the demolition and takeover of the lands would occur.

“After they demolished and locked people’s houses, they said they were from Oba Oluwalambe. They attacked one of my sons who challenged them and it was only God that saved him from their clutch.

“The following day, we appointed four persons among ourselves and met with Oba Oluwalambe to know what was happening. He asked whom we bought our lands from and we told him we bought our lands from Olatokun about 44 years ago.

“The monarch replied that the Olatokuns were slaves on the land and that the land belonged to his father and we appealed for an amicable resolution. We were told we would have to pay N30m for each plot if we were to remain on the land. Where should we get that?” she queried.

Monarch denies involvement

Reacting to the accusations by the residents, Oba Oluwalambe told our correspondent in an interview at his palace that the judgment that led to the possession taken was granted by a Lagos High Court in 2021, which was not appealed by the community.

He stressed that he was not the one who instituted the case against the community, but his family as a unit instituted the case in 2001.

He noted that after the judgment was delivered in 2021, the defendants did not file any appeal to counter the judgment, and in 2024, they secured an execution order, which prompted them to inscribe possession taken on buildings in the communities.

He clarified that the suit that led to the possession taken was not against the house owners but against those who sold the land to them, whom he alleged were not the rightful owners of the land.

Oba Oluwalambe said, “The matter they are alleging me for does not concern me. It is the family that instituted a case against those who sold the land to them in 2001, and the matter was in court for 20 years before a final judgment was delivered in 2021. The other party who sold the land to them did not appeal the judgment.

“When my family realised that they had failed to appeal the judgment, we approached the court for an execution order to enforce the possession judgment that was granted by the court. We approached the former Lagos CP, Ishola Olanrewaju, and the bailiff to carry out the possession taken.

“I was not involved in any of the process. My family members would only come and give me feedback. I was not the one who ordered any demolition of their property. We approached members of the community and they claimed that they bought their land from the Olatokun family, whom we had secured a judgment against.”

When asked about the N30m re-acquisition claim by the community, Oba Lambe disclosed that his family had yet to conclude on a repurchasing price.

“I did not ask them to pay any money because the family has not decided on the resale price. We have asked their lawyer to meet with our lawyer on what would be done,” the monarch said.

Also reacting, the Bashorun of Ojokoro, Musibau Balogun, who was accused of leading the thugs who carried out the demolition, claimed that he was not at the communities when the demolition was carried out as alleged by the residents.

He stressed that he had only visited the community when he was invited by someone to clarify the judgment that led to the possession taken before the day they claimed the demolition was carried out.

 “I was not at home on the day the demolition was carried out. I was at a chieftaincy ceremony, and I came back on December 8. How can I be at two places at the same time? I only visited the place when someone who claimed he was supporting them called me to know about the court order,” Balogun said.

Despite his claims, many residents still believe the monarch played a role in the demolition and the alleged demand for re-acquisition fees.

We are not aware of a legal dispute – Family

In an attempt to get the reaction of the defendants in the suit, this correspondent reached out to the Olabode family, one of the families who sold the land to residents of the community.

While the head of the family, who was said to have sold the land has become late, his wife, Mrs Olabode, disclosed that the family was not aware of any legal dispute before and after their patriarch’s death.

 She disclosed that the land was inherited from their progenitor who came to settle in the area several years ago. According to her, the move by Oba Olorunlambe was an attempt to forcefully grab their land.

She narrated, “My name is Mrs Olabode. I am the wife of the Olabode who sold lands to residents of the Olabode community. We had lived here for more than 40 years before my husband passed away. There was no time in history that I was aware of any legal dispute over land ownership.

 “Before my husband’s death, we had lived peacefully in this community until December when these people came and laid claims to all the land in this community.

“My husband never informed me that there was any dispute on the land. The community is even named after him by the Lagos State Government. So, I don’t know where the legal dispute is coming from.”

Land ownership in Lagos: A long-standing crisis

The dispute in Ojokoro is only one of many land ownership conflicts in Lagos, where cases of land grabbing, forced evictions, and demolitions have become increasingly common.

Lagos is Nigeria’s commercial hub, and with limited land space, property disputes are frequent. Land speculators, traditional families, and government agencies often engage in protracted legal battles over ownership, leaving residents in confusion.

Land grabbing, in particular, has become a lucrative business. Some land speculators sell properties to unsuspecting buyers, even when ownership is disputed. Years later, the real owners, or those with legal claims, return to enforce possession, often resulting in violent clashes and evictions.

A 2023 study by Deji Olanrewaju, Ademola Taiwo and Adeyemi Omodele published in the African Journal of Humanities and Contemporary Education Research attributed the cases of land grabbing particularly in Lagos and Ogun states to improper implementation of the Land Use Act and distorted traditional histories among others.

It read, “There are several causes of land disputes in society which included but are not limited to scarcity of land, untitled and unregistered land, lack of clear or identified boundaries, multiple sales of land to different buyers, improper implementation of the Land Use Act, improper enforcement of the various anti-land-grabbing laws, intention to fraud, distorted traditional histories, greediness, unemployment, and over-ambition.”

The study noted that despite the anti-land grabbing laws enacted by these states, the menace had yet to be addressed.

Olanrewaju, Taiwo and Omodele went further to stress that the anti-land-grabbing task force had not done enough in curbing the menace of land grabbing in Lagos State.

“Lagos State was the first State in Nigeria to pass a law to curb anti-land-grabbing laws. The law is titled: Lagos State Property Protection Law, 2016. Almost immediately after Lagos State passed this law, Ogun State followed suit by passing a similar law. At the inception of the law, residents of Lagos State, especially, landowners, thought that, within two years, there would no longer be anything like land-grabbing in the State.

The question that arises is this: has the Lagos State Judiciary delivered any known judgment in respect of land-grabbing related cases since the law came into force? The answer is negative. Can one say that the law is effective with what happens in the state, every day, in respect of land-grabbing?

“The Lagos Special Task Force on Land-Grabbing, set up by the government to ensure the implementation of the law, is not helping the situation, as its activities are replete with sentiment, bias, and unfairness to the persons who make complaints before it.

“Culprits charged to court, are, also, not diligently prosecuted, thereby, failing to deter others from land-grabbing. Furthermore, delays in the judicial system, are much and are quite frustrating and this worsens the already bad anti-land-grabbing legal framework in the State,” the researchers stressed.

Negative impact of land grabbing

The resultant impact of land-grabbing is often negative, and in some cases, devastating. Beyond the tension it could create in the affected community, it could also lead to loss of life, apprehension and psychological distress to victims.

On July 15, 2023, a land-grabbing dispute that occurred in the Lotu Town in the Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos State left the town’s traditional ruler, Fatai Jubril, dead after he was shot by another rival over a piece of land.

Jubril’s widow, Ejiro, who was nursing a three-month-old baby at the time the tragedy struck, had alleged that another traditional ruler in the area killed her husband and told her that “he (Jubril) got what he deserved.”

Narrating her ordeal to news  Ejiro had said after the traditional ruler and the hoodlums he allegedly came with had beaten up and brutalised her husband, “Suddenly, the Baale hit the butt of the gun on the ground three times and the next thing I heard was a loud bang. He shot my husband. I cried out ‘You have killed my husband’ but he simply said my husband’s eyes had seen what he was looking for and that the deed had been done.”

The psychological toll on displaced residents cannot be ignored. Many, particularly elderly residents, now live in uncertainty, unsure of where they will go next.

Some, like Ijaduola, have developed health complications due to the stress of losing their homes.

“I have been sick since the demolition,” he admitted. “I have nowhere to go. I don’t sleep well. I feel like I have lost everything.”

For children in the community, the impact is equally devastating. Many have had their education disrupted as families struggle to find new accommodations.

Legal Perspectives

A Legal practitioner, Shaola Adekunle, while analysing the court ruling stresses that the communities and the affected parties may appeal the judgement or seek an amicable resolution of the dispute.

He stressed that the defendants’ failure to lead evidence during the legal proceedings may put them at a disadvantage position when they appeal. He however urged them to seek alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

Adekunle said, “The case was majorly not defended and no evidence was adduced by the Defendants in the matter in which case the court was right to declare the land as belonging to the 4th-7th Defendants/Counterclaimants (representatives of the Akeja Oniyanru Royal Family) based on the uncontroverted evidence presented to the court by the 4th-7th Defendants/Counterclaimants.

“If the parties negatively affected by the judgement feel they are entitled to the land as owners and have superior evidence that can controvert the claims of the 4th-7th Defendants/Counterclaimants, they can apply for stay of execution to stall any demolition exercise and also proceed to appeal the case to the Court of Appeal challenging the decision of the Lagos State High Court but it is left to be seen how successful their appeal may be especially in the face of not leading evidence to controvert the 4th-7th Defendants/Counterclaimants’ claims and evidence in the case.

“The court has made an order of forfeiture of the land against the Defendants and in favour of the 4th-7th Defendants/Counterclaimants, the 4th-7th Defendants/Counterclaimants are therefore entitled to deal with the land as they so wish being the owners of the land and this will include the right to demolish the structures or properties on the land. Ownership of land extends to whatever structures exist on the land.”

Residents seek intervention

As the dispute rages and uncertainty settles on the minds of the residents, they have only one appeal to the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to salvage them from losing their homes.

For Yusuf Tunde, a young man who had spent almost three decades of existence in the communities, his only wish and appeal to the government is to intervene and stop the demolition of their homes.

“Every day, these people keep coming to measure our land. We don’t know what to do again that is why we are pleading to Governor Sanwo-Olu and Nigerians to come to our aid,” Tunde echoed.

Similarly, Mrs Olabode, Ijaduola, Rotimi and other residents of these communities shared the same faith and they jointly appealed to the Governor “to intervene in our plight.”

Lagos mum

Efforts to get the reaction of the Lagos State Government proved abortive as repeated calls and messages sent to the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Sanwo-Olu, Gboyega Akosile, were not responded to.

Experts advocate dispute resolution, stricter laws

Real Estate property lawyer, Adekunle, in his opinion, advised the communities and the affected parties to seek alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to forestall their houses from being demolished.

He said, “The parties negatively affected by the judgement of the court should explore negotiations and amicable settlement with the 4th-7th Defendants/Counterclaimants to avoid the demolition exercise from being carried on by the 4th-7th Defendants/Counterclaimants.”

 For Olanrewaju, there is a need for comprehensive reform of anti-land grabbing policies to end the menace.

 “A comprehensive strategy should be formulated to halt the spread of land-grabbing, and ultimately, making it undesirable for those who may wish to persist in the trade of depriving others of their landed properties.

 “The onus falls on governments to adopt good governance practices, such as accountability and transparency in land matters. Adjustments should also be made to human rights clauses while legislative mediation aimed at the protection of property rights and public peace should be adopted.”