Three buildings in the Orile-Iganmu area of Lagos State were on Saturday demolished by law enforcement officers led by the Lagos High Court bailiffs.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the buildings were demolished on the order of the Supreme Court which gave the ownership of the land on which the buildings were erected to the Ojora family of Lagos State in 2009.
The owners of the affected buildings were also said to have failed to perfect their tittles on their properties with the family that won the court dispute.
One of the affected buildings, located on Salvage Lane, Orile-Iganmu, was said to be owned by a retired army Colonel, Eyitayo Akinbami.
The other affected structures were a two-storey building on Bale Street, said to have belonged to one Nurudeen Omobalufon, and a building on Coker Road at the the Alaba area of the state was owned by one Gainful Animashaun.
The demolition was said to have been carried out under the supervision of policemen led by the Divisional Police Officer of Orile Police Station, Dickson Onyeka.
The Estate Management Consultant to the family, Samuel Owojuyigbe, said after the Supreme Court verdict in favour of the Ojora family, an appeal was made to the affected people to perfect their titles or to vacate the property. He said all entreaties fell on deaf ears.
Owojuyigbe said rather than perfect their titles, the affected persons went back to the Supreme Court in 2012 to challenge the validity of the 2009 apex court judgment which favoured the family.
Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said the presence of armed police officers, numbering about 50, was to ensure that there was no breakdown of law and order.
She said the policemen acted under the instruction of the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, who ordered that policemen should enforce the Supreme Court verdict.
She said, “The DPO was ordered to deploy his men to the area to ensure peace since the highest law court had given the verdict in favour of one of the parties.
“It was the court sheriff that actually pull down the building, our job was only to ensure that it was done peacefully.”
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