By The people of Oreki Village in Eleko, Ibeju-Lekki local government Area of the state, has called on the Lagos State government to obey the court injunction restraining it from taking over their land.
According to the Baale of the village, Chief Apena Adekunle, agents of the state government are still carrying on with construction on their land, refusing to follow the restraining order from the court.
Chief Adekunle said the government grabbed their land, in 2015, over claims that they intend to build Charity University in Oreki Village. However, since the forceful takeover of the land, the State Government has been reportedly selling part of it to private individuals.
BlackBox Nigeria gathered the community had secured an Order of Interlocutory Injunction restraining the Lagos State Government and its agents on the 20th August, 2020. The said order was obtained In the High Court No 40 Epe Judicial Division before the Lordship Hon. Justice G.A. Safari was signed by the Senior Registrar, Agbedina Usman.
“Unfortunately, three days later, precisely on 20 August, 2020 about 2 am in the night, they swooped on us with bulldozers and destroyed over 332 houses including my gas plant that has 43 workers,” said Mr. Murphy Adebare, a stakeholder and the owner of a Gas Plant Factory.
It was learnt that government agents, on August 17, 2020, descended on Oreki village. The Lagos State government was said to have mobilized troops of Egbeyemi Task Force from Alausa-Ikeja and besieged the community dishing out orders that the stakeholders and the residents numbering above 300 should within seven days vacate the place they have lived for over two decades.
Consequently, over 3,000 people have been rendered homeless; several jobs lost including 43 workers at the gas factory. Residents of Oreki village now live in makeshift homes and shanties.
The community called on the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu to instruct his agents to vacate their land, saying over 3,000 hectares were forcefully taken over by the government.
See pictures of the court injunction below:
