A Civil Rights group, the Save Lagos Group (SLG) has alleged an official of Lagos State Ministry of Land and Physical Planning, One Town Planner Bisiriyu, of flagrant disobedience to the State Governor’s directive on how to settle a land matter involving a Lagosian, Dr Adekunle Akinsanya.

The group had earlier written a Petition Letter to the State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, over disrespect by the Executive Secretary, State Land Use Allocation Committee to the judgment of the State High Court sitting in Ikeja, calling for the implementation of the Court of competent jurisdiction judgement on the matter.

It also alleged that Town Planner Bisiriyu and his co-travellers in the Land Bureau of the State, have been working against the amicable resolution of the land matter with the State based Medical Practitioner, Dr Akinsanya.

Dr Akinsanya, who is also an indigene of the State, had been striving since 1999 to take over the portion of the land allocated to him at Ipaja Residential Scheme by the authority of the State government after payment of the prescribed fees to the purse of the State government for the land.

The group then called for the urgent intervention of the State Governor over the plight of Dr Akinsanya who ran away from land grabbers(Omo-Onile), believing that the land acquired through the State government would not have any problem, not knowing that the government officials in-charge of land allocation in the State were original land grabbers (Omo-Onile).

The group in a Petition Letter dated 14th May 2020 with the title: “Report of the injustice of the Executive Secretary, Land Use Allocation Committee in Lagos State and disobedience to the High Court Judgment in a suit No: ID/726/2010, over Land allocation of 1000 square metre at Block 52A, Plot 22 at Ipaja Residential Scheme to Dr Adekunle Akinsanya, where Save Lagos Group (SLG) was demanding for immediate allocation of land to Dr Akinsanya as approved in 1999 by the State government.”

The Petition Letter was signed by the Convener, Save Lagos Group (SLG), Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman and forwarded to Governor Sanwo-Olu, Speaker, State House of Assembly, State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, State Surveyor-General, Permanent Secretary, Land Bureau and host of others, for their urgent intervention and subsequent resolution of the land matter.

Sulaiman who disclosed that the High Court in its ruling in favour of Dr Akinsanya, awarding a cost of N100,000 against the State government to be paid to the claimant (Akinsanya).

According to the Petition Letter; “Sir, several attempts were being made by Dr Adekunle Akinsanya, through some letters to the appropriate quarters and concern agencies in the State to come to his aid by prevailing on the government officials in-charge of allocation of land to do so as approved. But while striving to get his (Dr Akinsanya) portion of land as paid for and approved by the State government to commence the construction of the residential house as planned for, Dr Adekunle Akinsanya got to know that the same portion of land has been corruptly transferred to unknown person by the officials of the Land Use Allocation Committee through the Survey Plan No.LS/D/LKJ.

“SLG wishes to inform your good office that after Dr Adekunle Akinsanya exhausted all the passionate means to make the government officials in charge of the land allocation allocate the said portion of land to him as contained in the State government Letter proved abortive and this informed Dr Akinsanya to approach the State High Court in a suit No.ID/726/2010, to seek redress where the Presiding Judge, Justice O.S.Taiwo(Mrs.) gave the judgement in favour of Dr Adekunle Akinsanya.

“Although Notice of Appeal with Appeal No.CA/L/1494/2018 filled by Lagos State government as Appellant/ Defendant through its Counsel, Mrs A.M. Salau, Deputy Director, Ministry of Justice, were struck out as requested by the State government since 24th of September,2019 which makes the State High Court Judgement on the subject matter to subsist. The State government through its Land Use Allocation Committee has refused to do the needful by allocating the portion of the Land to the claimant, Dr Adekunle Akinsanya.

“The refusal of Land Allocation Committee necessitated this Petition Letter from Save Lagos Group (SLG) and we believe that a government should toe the path of sanity, progress, egalitarianism and development of her citizens. We also want to bring to your notice that the Land Use Allocation Committee has been using bureaucratic bottleneck to frustrate the efforts of the claimant (Dr Adekunle Akinsanya) to get his right portion of the land as paid for and approved by the State government by misleading the State Ministry of Justice to file the withdrawn and struck out Notice of Appeal.”

The group, then, demanded from Governor Sanwo-Olu to set up an independent panel of inquiry on the subject matter in respect of land allocation with reference number:-LU/RES/IPA/Block52A/Plot 22, with amicable resolution of the land dispute within the 30 days of receiving the Petition Letter.

It further demanded; “That if the State government had allocated the portion of the land to the unknown person either by omission/commission, the claimant(Dr Akinsanya) should be allocated with another portion of the land within the Ipaja Residential Scheme and if the State government could not reallocate another portion of land to the claimant within the Ipaja Residential Scheme again, the government should ready to relocate the claimant to its another Residential Scheme within the area in the State”.

Sulaiman therefore, vowed that if the State government through Land Allocation Committee could not accede to various demands of the group on the subject matter within the reasonable time, Save Lagos Group (SLG) would be left with the options of approaching the Supreme Court for final adjudication and other democratic means like a protest of picketing the Ministry to ensure that the State government did the needful on the subject matter.

SAVE LAGOS GROUP’S LETTER TO GOVERNOR BABJIDE SANWO-OLU