Shangisha Landlords Demand Enforcement of S’Court Judgement, Accuse Lagos of Defying Court Orders
Bennett Oghifo
The Shangisha/Magodo Landlords Association has renewed its demand for the immediate enforcement of court judgments ordering the Lagos State Government to allocate 549 plots of land to its members, accusing the state government of frustrating the implementation of a Supreme Court judgment delivered in their favour.
The association, at a press conference, said the dispute over the land had lasted for more than four decades, insisting that successive governments had failed to comply with judgments of the Lagos State High Court, Court of Appeal and ultimately the Supreme Court.
The landlords alleged that the Lagos State Government compulsorily acquired their land between 1984 and 1985, on the representation that it was required for the construction of an international-standard hospital.
According to them, their homes were demolished and they were displaced, only for the land to subsequently be subdivided and allocated to private individuals.
The association said that after discovering the alleged irregular allocation, it approached the government with documentary evidence, leading to a resolution that members would be compensated with alternative plots in what later became Magodo Scheme II.
It said the resolution was not implemented, prompting the landlords to institute Suit No. ID/795/88 in June 1988, with Chief Adebayo Adeyiga and six others as plaintiffs against the Lagos State Government.
The association said that despite an interlocutory injunction granted by the High Court on October 19, 1992, restraining further allocation and development of the disputed land, activities allegedly continued.
It further recalled that on May 17, 1993, the then Governor of Lagos State, Sir Michael Otedola, issued an executive directive for the release of the land to the association, but that the directive was not implemented.
On December 31, 1993, the High Court, according to the association, delivered judgment in its favour and ordered the state government to allocate 549 plots from the disputed land to the association as first choice of preference.
The landlords alleged that attempts to enforce the judgment were met with resistance and violence.
They cited an alleged attack on their chairman, Chief Adebayo Adeyiga, on May 4, 1994, during which he was allegedly assaulted and thrown from a one-storey building, leaving him permanently disabled and eventually blind. They also alleged that other members were attacked, with some losing their lives.
The association said the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, affirmed the High Court judgment on September 25, 2001, before the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the decisions of the lower courts on February 10, 2012.
It maintained that the Supreme Court judgment had brought legal finality to the matter and that what remained was compliance by the executive authorities.
The association also referred to proceedings before the Supreme Court that it said ended on February 25, 2024, claiming that the apex court again directed the Lagos State Government to allocate the 549 plots to its representatives and warned against further attempts to reopen the matter.
The landlords expressed disappointment that, despite the court decisions, the dispute remained unresolved.
They said members had continued to pursue the matter through constitutional and judicial channels for more than 41 years, adding that many of the original litigants had died while their children and grandchildren continued the struggle.
They appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Lagos State Government to comply fully with the subsisting judgments, while also urging civil society organisations and advocates of the rule of law to intervene.
The association further called on the National Assembly to investigate the circumstances surrounding the disputed land and the alleged failure to implement the judgments.
It listed several former governors, judicial officers, attorneys-general, politicians, lawyers and civil servants whom it said should be invited to explain their roles in the prolonged dispute.
The association also questioned the status of the report of the Akinola Aguda panel, which, it alleged, investigated the allocation of state land in Lagos, including the Shangisha property.
The landlords warned members of the public against dealing with any association claiming to represent the original owners of the disputed land, insisting that they remained the only legitimate association recognised by the Supreme Court in the matter.
They also announced that contractors and suppliers of building materials would henceforth require registration or permits from the Shangisha Landlords Association before operating within the estate.
The association stressed that its demand was not for special treatment but for enforcement of judicial decisions, declaring: “Justice delayed for forty-one years must not become justice permanently denied.”