Ogun govt begins the demolition of 25,000 houses

By Emmanuel Udom
Officials of the ogun state government, south-west Nigeria, on Wednesday, begins the demotion of 25,000 houses in three communities in the state, beginning from Ipokeda.
Checks revealed that other communities to be affected are: Ilepa and Onihale.

www.vicnuel.blogspot.com recalled that on Saturday, August 29, 2015, residents of the communities staged a peaceful protest, where they walked through the streets, carrying placards and pleading with the state governor, Ibikunle Amosun, to save them from homelessness and untimely death, which may result from the demolition of their houses.

Before the protest, chairman, ogun state chapter of the Civil Liberties Organization,  Comrade Yemi Enitan, said that “if the move by the government to demolish the houses is carried out, “it will lead to the untimely death of the affected victims, while others may be become refugees in their fatherland”.

The ogun CLO leader wondered why officials of the state government on August, 25, 2015, stormed the communities and marked the houses slated for demolition on Monday, August, 31, 2015, when Amosun, during his campaigns in the communities promised that those affected by the demolition could be compensated by the government.

His words: why did Governor Ibikunle Amosun confidently told the residents of the affected communities that they should remain where they are and those whose buildings are affected will be given a new place each to compensate them for the losses incurred on the lands.

He said that independent investigations revealed that the said hectares of land in the communities were acquired by the management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital(LUTH) on November, 28, 1981 with Certificate of Occupancy(C of O) issued by the Ogun State government  in favour of: Mudasiru Mustapha, Nofiu Isiaka and Mathew Afunkun.

 Peter Kolawole Idowu, chairman, Ilepa Community Association, one of the affected communities, in his remarks said that “it is unfortunate that despite on-going court case on the controversial land, the government and its agencies had completed arrangements to commence demolition of buildings in the affected communities”.

But, our correspondent gathered that despite the plea, through the peaceful protest on Saturday by the residents of the communities, officials of the ogun state government, accompanied by bulldozers arrived the communities on Wednesday, September, 2, 2015, for the commencement of the demolition exercise.

Enitan and other CLO officials confirmed this recent development in a telephone chat with our correspondent.