20th February 2024.

URGENT PRESS RELEASE BY MR ABU ABEL (OLASHENI ADEYINKA JOHNSON) & 5 OTHERS ON THE TOTAL DISREGARD TO RULE OF LAW BY CSP SHOLA JEJELOYE (HEAD, LAGOS STATE TASKFORCE (THE UNTOUCHABLE POLICE COPS) MR TAYO AYINDE (CHIEF OF STAFF, LAGOS STATE), COMMISSIONER OF POLICE LAGOS STATE AND OTHERS.

ALARMING UPDATES ON THE CONTINUOUS LAND GRABBING AND UNLAWFUL DISPOSSESSION OF THE PROPERTY OF MR ABU ABEL AND 5 OTHERS AT SILICON VALE ESTATE, LEKKI, LAGOS STATE RIGHTFULLY ACQUIRED BY MR. OLASHENI JOHNSON ADEYINKA AND
OTHER ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES OF MR. TAYO AYINDE (CHIEF OF STAFF, LAGOS STATE), CSP SHOLA JEJELOYE, SP SALAKO AND THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE LAGOS STATE AS REGARDS THE SAID PROPERTY IN TOTAL DISOBEDIENCE AND
CONTEMPT OF A VALID COURT ORDER RESTRAINING ANY INTERFERENCE WITH THE LAND PENDING THE DETERMINATION OF THE SUIT

It is quite disheartening and alarming and brings about a total loss of hope in the judiciary which has always been the hope of every common man in Lagos and in Nigeria as a whole that if all fails the law will surely come in to right all wrong, to learn that despite a valid court order obtained by MR. OLASHENI JOHNSON ADEYINKA, restraining MR. TAYO AYINDE (CHIEF OF STAFF, LAGOS STATE), CSP SHOLA JEJELOYE
(CHAIRMAN, LAGOS STATE TASKFORCE), COMMISSIONER OF POLICE LAGOS STATE and all other persons from taking any untoward action as regards the land, the subject matter of an active suit in court, that MR. TAYO AYINDE (CHIEF OF STAFF, LAGOS STATE) and CSP SHOLA JEJELOYE (CHAIRMAN, LAGOS STATE TASKFORCE) have not only interfered with the land but have built illegal structures and totally portrayed themselves as the owners with no lawful validation.

They have portrayed total disregard for law and order, are in contempt of the court, have abused public office and have employed men of the Nigerian Police force as body guards, escorts, builders, masons and enablers in their illegal activities over the piece of land under litigation.

A trip to the property at Silicon Vale, Lekki, Lagos State, would reveal the presence of armed police officers with fully equipped police vans manning the property under litigation with an existing interim injunction, whose presence at the property was and is still being procured by MR. TAYO AYINDE (CHIEF OF STAFF, LAGOS STATE), CSP SHOLA JEJELOYE (CHAIRMAN, LAGOS STATE TASKFORCE) and whose same presence is by no means tailored towards the preservation of law and order, the safety of lives and property but to serve in the transportation of building materials, serving as labour and man power in the illegal construction activities perpetrated by MR. TAYO AYINDE (CHIEF OF STAFF, LAGOS STATE) AND CSP SHOLA JEJELOYE (CHAIRMAN, LAGOS STATE TASKFORCE). Imagine a public funded government establishment being utilized by a citizen to carry out his own personal vendetta against another.

This raises a series of pertinent questions. How can a land validly obtained with a Governor’s consent in Lagos state be unlawfully seized without due process? What is the weight or even the worth of a
Governor’s Consent in Lagos State? What security does it offer to a land owner? All these are serious issues to be pondered bearing in mind that the process of obtaining a Governor’s consent is not a walk in the park and one could undergo such process for years. Should the ‘otherwise swift procedure’ of obtaining Governor’s consent not avail itself of sweeping out all irregularities attached to the prospective land title to be perfected? How then can a land purchased years ago and duly perfected be suddenly seized by certain interested individuals with government flavour who prior to this time were not even aware of such land at the time it was acquired?

There is a prescribed process for the compulsory acquisition of land in Nigeria, LET IT BE FOLLOWED! If there is a legal backing to the acts of dispossession perpetrated by MR. TAYO AYINDE (CHIEF OF STAFF, LAGOS STATE) AND CSP SHOLA JEJELOYE (CHAIRMAN, LAGOS STATE TASKFORCE) a court order or government order, let it be publicly declared backed up with documentary evidence. The alternative acts portrayed by them is a broad day light 21st century abduction of power with no fear of any punitive repercussions, that is to say who can stop me? Certainly not the court (there is an active interim injunction), not the public (there have been several letters written concerning their acts, public outcry against such acts, peaceful protest to the state government house, the state house of assembly and other government establishments who have assured the people that the issue will be looked into) and especially not the police (as the police are actively engaged in the illegal building activities taking place at Silicon Vale, Lekki, Lagos).

This is a call and appeal to all vested patrons and citizens invested in the good will of the state of Lagos to join and lend their voices against the possible future trend of forceful and unlawful seizure of lands rightfully acquired, registered and duly perfected under the Laws of Lagos State as this may not be a one off situation as this also poses a threat to the erstwhile security possessed by land owners who have obtained Governor’s consent over their lands as well as prospective land owners who wish to exercise their constitutional right to own immoveable property in Nigeria and to obtain the highest documentation covering such land.

Let it be stated that if MR. TAYO AYINDE (CHIEF OF STAFF, LAGOS STATE) AND CSP SHOLA JEJELOYE (CHAIRMAN, LAGOS STATE TASKFORCE) had any legal backing for their acts of forceful seizure and dispossession why not come out with proof and state it, why not pursue the legal channel, if indeed there are controversies or irregularity with the title of MR. OLASHENI JOHNSON ADEYINKA over the parcel of land at Silicon Vale, Lekki, Lagos State? Why embark on acts inimical to the progress of the state of Lagos in the administration of land and title and take us back to the state of nature where there were no laws and life was nasty, brutish and short and the most powerful survived or prevailed over the rest.

The worst part of it is that CSP JEJELOYE is not new to using State Resources for Landgrabbing, there have been several reports by the police themselves denying JEJELOYE and even from the office of the Attorney General confirming same. The question is, must this particular individual bring down the state before he is shown the way out. Question for the inquiring mind.

These acts of dispossession by MR. TAYO AYINDE (CHIEF OF STAFF, LAGOS STATE) AND CSP SHOLA JEJELOYE (CHAIRMAN, LAGOS STATE TASKFORCE) spells out a rash power play but the unfortunate question is who will put an end to it? Who will stop them? Who will take the step to maintain and protect the investments of meaningful Nigerians like MR. OLASHENI JOHNSON ADEYINKA over their landed properties and assets?

Signed;

ITAKURE SAMUEL
Writing from Eti-OSA, Lagos State