Worried by the activities of land grabbers in the state, the Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Tuesday, ordered the State Taskforce on Environment and Special Offense‎ unit to recover 250 acres of land in Gberigbe, Ikorodu area, allegedly taken by a notorious land grabber.
 
It was gathered that the land was allocated to Shoreman Agro for farming in the early 80’s by the State Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative to encourage farming and boost food production in the state. But the vast expanse of land was alleged to have violently be taken over‎ by a notorious land grabber, called Lamina, who was accused of selling the land and pulling down over 12,000 palm trees in the farm.
 
Speaking with The Guardian, a representative of Shoreman Agro, who craved anonymity for security reasons, said workers on the farm were forcefully sent away by Lamina under the guise that he was working for some families, who claimed ownership of the state government’s property.
 
The informant said: “We got that land between 1982 and 1983 and we got all the necessary documents and approval from the state government and the families who also claimed ownership of the land. The land was a jungle when we started developing it for agricultural purposes. The farm was thriving and even we won the best farm of the Year award in 1989, in both the state and federal categories.
 
“The land grabbers led by Lamina, popularly called Sir Kay, invaded and destroyed the farms, tractors and other facilities. About 12, 000 palm trees were destroyed while our workers were chased away by Lamina thugs.”
 
He added that trouble with the land grabbers started in 2005, when one of the lawyers, who was signatory to the acquisition of the land, passed on. 
 
Confirming‎ Ambode’s directive, the Chairman of the Taskforce, Akeem Adedeji, said that the state government would not condone illegal eviction of rightful landlords from their properties by some miscreants, adding that the era of land grabbing activities in Lagos was over. 
 
According to Adedeji, the governor’s order was to recover the land. 
 
In line with the governor’s directive, the chairman said that the agency would storm the land in question and serve quit notices to the occupants of the land, who must have bought it from the land grabbers.
 
“Sequel to his passion to make life easy for every citizen, the governor has told us to follow due process in our enforcement. So, we will go to the land to serve quit notice to whoever is occupying it. The occupants will be served papers, the structures found on the land will be marked, after which we will recover the land. The essence is to enable them present their documents, if indeed they have any.
 
“They will be notified, but the land will be recovered in accordance with the Governor’s directive,” Adedeji added.