SUBAIR MOHAMMED writes on the alleged extortion racket involving Lagos landlords and a government agency.
RESIDENTS of Apapa Road in Lagos Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos State have accused the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) of allegedly colluding with some influential individuals to forcibly evacuate and demolish buildings which they occupy as tenants.
They also accused LASBCA of disregarding an order of a court compelling the agency and its officials to maintain the status quo over the planned demolition of their buildings.
The affected residents are appealing to the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to intervene and check the excesses of the building control agency and landlords/property developers who allegedly use officials of the agency for actions that are outside their statutory mandate.
Citing the economic hardship in the country, one of the tenants, Saheed Adebayo, appealed for respite, saying that the tenancy of some of the residents subsists till 2026.
He said, “On November 5, we got a contravention notice from LABSCA for distressed structure. A week after that, we got another notice from LABSCA ordering us to quit the property.
“We sensed a foul play and we informed the landlord but he kept mute. We decided to visit the district office of LABSCA where we met Architect Jide Ololade who told us that the issue on ground concerns the landlord and not tenants.
“But to save the situation, we decided to contract a lawyer who interfaced between us and the agency. After our lawyer’s intervention, LABSCA brought another seven-day quit notice that the property was distressed and had been marked for demolition.
“How can a building be marked for demolition without having been subjected it to any test?
“There is a conspiracy and an ill-intention designed to evict us from the building. We are appealing to the government to intervene because the tenancy of many of us runs through January 2026. We are appealing to them not to let us be rendered homeless. There is hardship in the land and ejecting us will further complicate this.”
Disobedience to court order?
With a forced eviction threat, the affected residents headed to court for judicial refuge and remedy but the alleged move by the accused agency and individuals to carry out the ejection has now triggered what could potentially be contempt of court against the agency and its leadership.
In their memorandum of claims brought pursuant to Order 3 Rule 2 (E) of the High Court of Lagos State, the applicants declared that forcible ejection and threatened demolition of their residence is unlawful and illegal.
After officials of the building control, on December 3, served a contravention notice for distressed structure and a seal order on the property in question without any prior inspection, the applicants told the court that the agency is disregarding its restraining order to maintain status quo pending compliance with the Lagos State High Court Practice direction No 2 of 2019 in pre-action protocol.
The applicants, including Adebayo Ibraheem, Monsuru Agbalaya, Iwelu Nkechi, Abdullahi Ashiru, Taibat Abdulsallam and Ibrahim Alao, by an ex-parte originating application dated November, 20, prayed the court for reliefs that would preserve their tenancy.
Those listed as defendants/respondents are the building owners/landlords Kolawole Ekelore, Rasheed Ekelore, Fatai Afoke and Monsurat Ekelore as well as Lagos State Building Control Agency and unknown persons that might be brought in by the defendants to accomplish their aim of forcibly ejecting the applicants while their tenancy is still running despite the absence of physical examination and expert conclusion that the building is distressed.
One of their prayers is an interim order restraining the defendants from demolishing the property situated at 118, Apapa Road, Ebute-Metta (west), Lagos, pending compliance with the Lagos State High Court Practice direction No. 2 of 2019 in pre-action protocol.
An ex-parte pre-emptive/interim order of injunction is also sought to restrain 1st and 6th defendants from ejecting the tenants from the property situated at 118, Apapa Road, Ebute-Metta (west), Lagos, pending the compliance and conclusion on pre-action protocol in the matter.
Determined to close all possible loopholes, the applicants also seek an ex-parte/interim order of injunction restraining the 1st and 6th defendants and their agents from unduly and illegally using officers of the Nigeria Police Force or any extra-judicial means to forcefully eject them from the above-mentioned property without due process pending the compliance with and conclusion of pre-action protocol.
While in pursuit of judicial remedy, the embattled residents are seeking the face of the executive head of LABSCA, Governor Sanwo-Olu, for an intervention that would checkmate the alleged excesses of the building control agency, shylock landlords and property developers “who use officials of the agency to actualise their selfish aims.”
Landlords demanded rent increase on building –Lawyer
In what would amount to a Pandora’s Box, lawyer to the residents, Muftau Sanusi, told Saturday Tribune that at the heart of the crisis is vendetta being pursued by the landlords after their rent-increase request was turned down by the tenants.
In the case he filed on behalf of his client, the legal practitioner had it documented that the threat of ejection and harassment by LASBCA officials came into the picture following the refusal of his clients to bow to the demand of the owners that they cough up more money when their tenancy is still valid and running.
His claims, which the defendants have not contradicted, bring to the fore the rampart pressure tenants in Lagos reportedly face at the hands of landlords and landowners.
The roles of LASBCA officials in the saga have also reinforced the regular complaints against state agencies in the built sector of widespread extortion, abuse of power and unholy alliances to deny the underprivileged justice in potential faceoff with powerful landowners and landlords.
Speaking on behalf of the aggrieved residents, Mr Sanusi appealed to Governor Sanwo-Olu to call officials of LASBCA to order over the alleged plot to render responsible and law-abiding citizens homeless.
He said, “It is disheartening to see a government agency being used to unleash terror on innocent and law-abiding residents in the state. These are responsible tenants who go about their daily bread lawfully but some developers eyeing the property are using officials of LASBCA to render them homeless despite the fact that some of the tenants have their rents paid till January 2026.”
In an affidavit of urgency sworn to at the High Court in Lagos, Ibrahim Alao, who is one of the applicants, deposed that the defendants (landlords) approached tenants for rent increase which they rejected.
This, according to him, was the reason why LASBCA marked the property as distressed and for demolition.
The affidavit reads, “That the first and fourth defendants’ family leased the property to the applicants and myself annually. That sometime in October 2024, the first and fourth defendants approached me and other tenants to increase the rent but we could not agree on the increment.
“That the first and fourth defendants colluded with the fifth and sixth respondents to illegally identified the property as being distressed with the motive to forcefully eject me and other tenants.
“That the first respondent refused to collect the agreed rent from us but instead threatened to unlawfully eject us from the property. That I engaged the 1st and 4th respondents that the property is not distressed but in good state of respondent.
“That sometimes in August, 2024, a group of thugs accompanied by first and third defendants came to threaten to forcefully and illegally eject me and other tenants.
“That I immediately briefed my solicitors who caused pre-action letter to be written and served on the respondents.”
We are nobody’s tool –LASBCA
Reacting to the allegations, LASBCA Director of Public Affairs, Adu Ademuyiwa Adegoke, told Saturday Tribune that officials of the agency are not tools in the hands of property developers in the state.
LASBCA core mandate, according to him, is to supervise and see to the safety of residents in such building.
“Our officials are out to look for distressed buildings and not milk or witch-hunt innocent property owners. We are not tools or agents for property developers in the state. LASBCA officials don’t even know the developer in question,” he stated.
Citing the case of 118 Apapa Road, Adegoke stated that three different notices were served on the residents in the said building within a space of four months.
He said, “The building in question is distressed. We have been on it for four months. Our activities underscore Lagos State government’s zero tolerance for building collapse. We must ensure that residents in the state sleep with both eyes closed.”
My men not collaborating with landlords for personal gain —GM
On his part, LASBCA General Manager, Mr Gbolahan Owodunni Oki, said the agency would not collaborate with landlords, developers or any private individuals for personal gain.
According to him, the agency’s activities are driven solely by the need to ensure building safety, structural integrity and public welfare across Lagos State just as he said it operates strictly within the confines of the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law, 2019.
He said LASBCA’s primary mandate is to ensure the safety of lives and properties by identifying and addressing distressed and structurally defective buildings in the state.
Oki said, “All actions taken, including the issuance of contravention notices, sealing orders and demolition notices, follow rigorous due process, thorough inspections and safety assessments,” he stated.
“Last year, the owners of the building in question were served distressed notices where they were instructed to conduct a non-destructive test (NDT) to ascertain the structural stability of the building which they failed to conduct, claiming that the building had been leased to a developer.
“The notice issued to the property owners was as a result of an inspection carried out by team of LASBCA’s officials that revealed serious structural deficiencies, posing an imminent danger to occupants and the general public.
“We remain committed to respecting judicial processes and complying with all lawful directives. Any claims suggesting otherwise are misleading and unfounded.”
The general manager affirmed that LASBCA remained transparent and accountable in its operations and urged the public to seek information directly from the agency.
Community leader backs LASBCA.
Chairman of Agbado-Oke Odo Community Development Committee (CDC), Mr Olabowale Kasunmu, in his reaction to the tension being generated by the imminent demolition, faulted the residents for occupying a building under a powerline, noting that the demolition exercise in the entire axis began last week.
He also claimed that the control agency gave all the affected houses and persons quit notices about six months ago.
“For anybody to protest plan to move people away from the danger of powerline, it is either the National Orientation Agency (NOA) is not working or the people are aware but they don’t really like themselves.
“Under these high-tension lines, we have beer parlours, hotels and even schools, This one is really not good for the system and we must tell ourselves the truth. Yes, accommodation might be a bit difficult now because the times are very, very bad, but that can’t compare to being under the powerline. Even that place is a drug den for criminals,” Kasunmu said.
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