Shangisha Landlords Take Possession of Magodo II Land as Baliff Executes S’Court Judgement

Bennett Oghifo

Baliff from a Lagos High Court yesterday executed a 6-year-old Judgement that gave possession of Magodo Scheme II to the original owners from which the then military government acquired it for public use.

The original owners, under the body, Shangisha Landlords Association went to court when they discovered the land was not being used in public interest.

So, panic gripped the new landlords and other residents of the highbrow Magodo Scheme II, as stern looking policemen took over the area to execute the judgment of the Supreme Court, which mandated Lagos State Government to give back 549 plots of land to the original owners of the area, who were dispossessed over 38 year ago.

The anti-riot policemen that accompanied the baliff took strategic positions within the highbrow area, while more than a thousand youths, apparently recruited by the Shangisha Landlords Association, moved from house to house inscribed “Possession Taken” on them. Their inscription on each house is the final indicated that the court had given them possession of the land on which the houses were built.

The then military government of Lagos State acquired the area for public use but later allegedly sold the land to government officials and their cronies, a situation which made the original owners, through Shangisha Landlords Association, to approach the high court for a redress. The court then ruled that both parties should maintain the status quo in the area. But in disregard to the court order, the state government continued to sell the land. The high court eventually, in its final judgment, ordered the state government to give the Association and its members 549 plot of land as a matter of priority. Dissatisfied with the high court judgment, the government approached the appeal court which affirmed the judgment of the lower court on the matter and ordered that Lagos State should, as a matter of priority give back 549 plots of land to the original land owners in the Shangisha Landlords Association. The matter went on to the Supreme Court which also affirmed the judgment of the lower courts. The supreme court judgment was handed down six years ago but Lagos State Government refused to execute the judgment.

The police stormed the area at about 2.30pm yesterday to maintain law and order while the marking of the houses, supervised by a court baliff, was ongoing.

Meanwhile, many of the landlords said they bought their land from the Lagos State Government, adding that they were not aware of any litigation on the land when they bought and that they were given certificate of occupancy (CofO).