Five arrested over land grabbing in Lagos

Five persons have been apprehended by the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences in connection with land grabbing in Lekki/Ajah area of Lagos.

Olayinka Egbeyemi, chairman of the task force, said the suspects were arrested based on the recently promulgated law of Lagos State which prohibits the act of forceful take over of peoples’ land.

“We acted on save our soul messages sent by members of the community who were chased away from their land with dangerous weapons by the land grabbers.

“The leader of the gang, who refused to disclose their godfathers, claimed they had been operating around Lekki-Ajah for about 15 years,” said the task force chairman.

In a related development, the police in Lagos said the three suspected land grabbers arrested in August have been charged to court for violating the state anti-grabbing law.

Spokesperson of the police in Lagos, Dolapo Badmos, said that land grabbing was an offence in Lagos State and warned that anyone caught would be prosecuted.

“The Lagos State police command will continue to enforce all laws of the land and anyone violating the laws, irrespective of the offender’s personality, will be prosecuted,” Badmos said.

It would be recalled that the state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode on August 5, 2016, assented to the law prohibiting land grabbing in Lagos.

JOSHUA BASSEY