Land grabbers barred in Lagos

Scores of land grabbers in the Lagos State will soon lose their jobs as the State government has issued a note of warning to such persons also known as Omo-nile saying that their acts would no longer be tolerated.

The state government made the caveat through the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem who said; ‘‘the state is ready to apply the full wrath of the law on anybody caught forcibly taking another person’s land in the state’’.

In a bid to show its seriousness, the state government also inaugurated a five-man Special Task Force to curtail the activities of land grabbers in Lagos.

Hereafter, the state government has informed that it will enforce its rights over land in Lagos and will work in tandem with relevant security agencies to implement state government and private property rights in the Centre of Excellence.

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The terms of reference of the committee, include: “to reduce to a barest minimum the activities of persons or corporate entities that use force and intimidation to dispossess or prevent any person or entity from acquiring legitimate interest and possession of property acquired through state government or private transactions.

According to Mr. Kazeem, the committee is also: “to coordinate the efforts of the various agencies of government charged with enforcing the state government rights over land in Lagos and to work with all security agencies to ensure enforcement of state government and private property rights in Lagos State”.

He explained that the state government’s decision to set up the task force is in realisation that in recent years, “the land grabbers have caused havoc and unrest in different parts of the state by dispossessing legitimate land owners of their properties, thereby stifling commercial activities in the state.

“It is therefore important that the state government not only identifies the effects of the problems being perpetrated by these unscrupulous elements on commercial activities and peace of the citizenry but also find lasting solutions to the menace”, he noted.

The commissioner also said the task force “was to protect investors and maintain law and order” adding this by implication will encourage the verification of legal claims through litigation rather than resorting to violence”.

Kazeem said that the State Assembly is about passing a law that will exclusively deal with the activities of the land grabbers and prescribe appropriate stiff penalty for offenders.

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