Job Osazuwa

Family of late Alhaja Ashimawu Waleola, yesterday, protested what they called a forceful and illegal trespass by Agege Local Government Area of Lagos State on its uncompleted building situated on 33 Awori Street, Oniwaya area of the state.

Speaking on behalf of the family, the daughter of the deceased, Madam Afusatu Konigbagbe, 92, said that she and her brother inherited the property from their mother and could not fold their arms and watch it forfeited to government.

She said that the land measuring 524.11 square yards was purchased from one Alhaji Jinadu Onilenla on December 21, 1971 without any encumbrance. She added that her family went further to ratify the purchase of same land on August 8, 2010 with the estate of Onilenla.

“But all of a sudden, we saw the council’s signpost there that it has taken possession of it without any legal justification. All our documents that we duly obtained from the right ministries are intact.

“Taking this building away from me is an attempt to take my life. I am begging the state government and the good people of the state to come to our aid because I don’t have the power to fight them,” she said

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Another member of the aggrieved family, Alhaji Issa Ismail, claimed that the fence that was allegedly pulled down by the government cost his family over N800,000   to erect.

Reacting to the allegation on the telephone, the council boss, Hon. Ganiyu Egunjobi, told Daily Sun that the property has been abandoned for almost 40 years and has since become a hideout for miscreants and robbers, who meet there to strategise and unleash mayhem on the people of the community and the state.

“The local government decided to take over that property for public interest. We are going to use it for a health centre, which the people will benefit from. There is nothing hidden about it and there is no going back from building the health centre,” he said.

He advised whoever is claiming ownership of the property to come over to the council secretariat with whatever documents they have.

While they were insisting that the government’s contractor must not carry out any construction at the site, a member of the family told the reporter that a taskforce team allegedly ordered by the local government stormed the site to arrest many of his relatives.