Lagos Oba Uses Thugs To Grab N2 Billion Estate From Developer

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News From The State Tuesday, December 30th, 2014

Ayo Balogun, Lagos – The Oloto Ruling Family of Lagos has seized a N2 billion estate built by Stardust Estate Limited in Gbagada area of Lagos from the developer, laying ownership claim to the 27 plots of land the estate is being erected.

Picture of a cross section of the estate seized by the Oloto Ruling Family

Stardust Estate Limited has acquired the land from the Lagos State Government in 2007 from a loan it obtained from Skye Bank Nigeria Plc to the tune of N2 billion to develop the property and sell it out to recoup the money and pay back.

After the estate has been developed half way with some people paying up to N38 million to purchase 4-bedroom duplex apartment at the estate, the Oloto Family was said to have used thugs to sack the develop from the site and took over the property which the family put up for sale at the cost of N25 million per duplex.

The developer wrote to Governor Babatunde Fashola to save the company from being taken over by the bank as it had obtained a load facility to develop the estate which the Oloto family is laying claims to.

With the order of the governor, officials of the Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit stormed the area on Tuesday to reclaim the estate from the Oloto family.

Armed taskforce officials led by their Chairman, Bayo Sulaiman, stormed Gbagada around 10.00 am and immediately took over the seized estates while suspected thugs fomenting trouble in the area ran away.

A court judgment showed that the High Court of Lagos had restrained the Oloto Family from encroaching on the land being developed but the family put the judgment aside and sacked the developer.

However, Sulaiman said Stardust legally acquire the property, which is about 27 plots from the government to build an estate and obtained C of O for the property, saying that survey carried out by the Surveyor General Office showed that the land in question did not belong to the Oloto ruling family and that the Attorney General of the State, through the Solicitor General had written to the Oloto family to stay away from the land, but that the family refused and took over possession of the already built estate and put the houses in it for sale.

The prime suspect in the invasion of the property and a daughter of the Oloto Family, 60-year old Mrs, Adeola Egbeyemi was arrested with her cronies. She refused to speak to newsmen at the Estate site. She was arrested by the taskforce and taking to Alausa head office of the body where she was made to write a statement. In her statement, she said the land in question belonged to the Oloto Royal Family where the family intended to build a Millennium Estate.

Investigation revealed that after taking over the Estate, the Oloto Family has begun to sell the houses in the estate through Westgate Properties on Opebi Road, with the signboard of the company conspicuously displayed on the wall of the estate.

According to Dr. Akin Akinmokun, a Partner with Stardust Estate Limited, the bank where the money for estate was borrowed was already on the company’s neck to pay back, saying the company lost about N2 billion due to the activities of the land grabbers.

Akinmokun said the situation was pathetic, appealing to the state government to speed up action on the takeover so that the company could be allowed to complete the estate project which is still half-way.

According to him, the company legally acquire the land from the state government in 2007 and had even obtained the C of O until the Oloto family showed up to claim ownership of the land.