The Lagos State Government has advised all legitimate land and property owners in the State to perfect all title documents pertaining to their lands and property, saying this will help put land grabbers at bay and ensure easy administration of justice in the event that such assets are forcefully taken.
The Coordinator of the Lagos State Special Taskforce on Land Grabbers, Mr. Owolabi Arole, who gave this advice, noted that undocumented and incomplete transactions, as well as untidy property documentation, make it difficult for any property forcefully taken to be retrieved through legal means.
He said, “a large chunk of the land grabbing cases are fraught with issues of improper and incomplete legal documentation and such issues cause a delay in getting justice for rightful owners of the land.”
“These issues, however, have not deterred us from carrying out our mandate and getting justice for rightful owners of the land from unscrupulous elements who forcibly encroach and dispossess real owners of their property”, Arole said.
He affirmed that the task force has continued to pursue its mandate to reduce the activities of persons or corporate entities, who intimidate and forcefully claim the property of other residents.
Arole noted that the task force has, since its inauguration, received over 2,300 petitions bordering on land grabbing and related issues, while it has treated and concluded 600 cases, made 35 arrests and is presently working on 1,500 petitions.
While urging citizens whose lands have been forcefully taken not to take laws into their hands, the Coordinator advised them to report such incidents to the Special Taskforce on Land Grabbers for remedial action.
Arole warned land grabbers to desist from their illicit trade, stressing that the State government will, through the task force, bring the full wrath of the law on anybody caught forcibly taking another person’s land.
“Lagos State government, through the Lagos State Property Protection Law 2016, set up the task force to address the incessant activities of land grabbers in different parts of the State because the trend was stifling commercial activities and preventing prospective investors from carrying out business activities in Lagos”, the Coordinator explained.
Reiterating that the law prohibits forceful entry and illegal occupation of landed property, as well as violent and fraudulent conduct, Arole vowed that his task force will confront the menace of land grabbers and ensure a stop to their illicit trade.
