Lagos accuses monarchs of illegal land deals

Encroachment on government lands and schemes by traditional rulers said to be conniving with others to sell such lands to unsuspecting members of the public appears to be unsettling the government of Lagos State which has ordered its relevant agencies to henceforth arrest and prosecute anyone found culpable.

The government is also raising the alarm over what it called “widespread encroachment” by land speculators on state land including those designated for residential, industrial and commercial purposes, warning it will longer sit back and watch illegal takeover or development on designated land in any part of the state.

BusinessDay gathered that some dubious traditional rulers in the state now deliberately lure unsuspecting persons into buying lands where government has interest thereby fleecing them of their hard earned money, knowing that the government may not allow any development on such land.

Hakeem Muri-Okunola, permanent secretary, Lagos Land Bureau, who raised the alarm while speaking to journalists in Ikeja, listed Magodo ‘B’ series, Otedola underpass, Magodo residential scheme, Ikorodu GRA II and III, Masafejo and Igbogbo schemes, Sunnyfield, Aradagun as some of the government’s properties where individuals have encroached.