Badagry residents sue Lagos, police over demolition

A Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed hearing for February 21 in a suit filed by some residents of Atinporome community in Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State, over alleged demolition of their houses.
The plaintiffs are claiming N100 billion as exemplary damages for wrongful invasion and demolition from the police authorities and the Lagos State Government.
The plaintiffs, who sued for themselves and on behalf of other residents of the community, are Chief Charles Adu, Joshua Medepo, Korede Mayegun, Godwin Ogungbe, Oluseyi Adeleye, Alao Alapanla and Johnson Adebiyi.
Others are Justice Ovemurai, Afolabi Olukoya, Ibrahim Adedeji, Kolawole Adewumi, Edun Talabi, Joseph Onwueka and Joseph Ibukun.
They also include Adebayo Oke, Olanipekun Ayanleye, Sylvester Enebeli, Shittu Abdullahi, Afolabi Kehinde, Ahmeed Alade, Emmanuel Iwueze, Oladimeji Oluwaseun and Martha Adeogun.
The suit was instituted against the Inspector General of Police; The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State; Area Commander, Area “K” Police Command; the Ministry of Police Affairs; and the Lagos Task Force on Environment and Special Offences Unit.
Other defendants are the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, the Lagos State Lands Bureau, the Attorney General of Lagos State and the Attorney General of the Federation.
When the case came up on Monday, Justice Ibrahim Buba fixed February 21 for hearing after the Counsel to the Attorney General of Lagos State, M. T. Ogunsayan, informed the court that he had not seen any of the processes of the suit to enable him make his response.
Ogunsayan, therefore, prayed the court for time to sort out the processes and regularise his position on the matter.
The plaintiffs filed the suit through their Counsel, Declan Kemdirim, under the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules.
In the affidavit deposed to by the first plaintiff, Adu, the plaintiffs averred that on December 14, 2013, they received a letter from the police that residents of the area should vacate their houses and land.
Adu said: “The said letter specifically mentioned Agemowo and Agelado Mowo communities, Badagry, while our community is Atiporome, Araromi Extension and Mowo Phase 2.
“We contacted our solicitors and informed them of the situation, and then, a letter was drafted to clear the air that our communities were at Atiporome but all our efforts to serve the letter on the second respondent were rebuffed.
“All efforts made to also serve the letter on the third respondent’s office were equally rebuffed by the respondents, who chased us out of the area command.”
The plaintiffs claimed that “surprisingly on December 16, 2013 at about 4.30am, over 100 armed policemen from the Lagos State Task Force laid siege on our community and began to pull down our houses with bulldozers.
“Over 1,500 houses were demolished while a six-month old baby was killed in one of the houses demolished.”
They said that they were not allowed to pick anything from their houses before the demolition while scores of residents and youths were indiscriminately arrested.
The plaintiffs, therefore, urged the court to declare that the forceful demolition of their houses by the defendants was wicked, oppressive and unconstitutional.
They are also seeking an order compelling the respondents jointly and severally, to pay them N100 billion as exemplary damages for wrongful invasion and demolition, in addition to N5 million as cost.