‘Land grabbers’ invade Lagos school, chase away students

Some suspected land grabbers have invaded Shalom Group of Schools in Baruwa, Ipaja area of Lagos state and chased students away.

NAN reports that students and management of the school could not gain access into the premises as the entrance gate was blocked by the land grabbers better known as “Omo-Onile”.

Speaking on the incident on Monday, Adedayo Odeka, proprietress of the school, said the hoodlums were allegedly led by a man known as Kaka.

“He claimed that they had won a court judgement to take possession of our land. I told him to show me the judgement, as I was not aware of any court case let alone judgment but he refused,” she said.

“Coming out overnight and claiming the land is uncalled for. This is a land we have been occupying for 30 years, students have been graduating year in year out.

“The land is a federal government allocation, we don’t have any dealings with ‘Omo Onile’ we have all our documents.”

The proprietress said the hoodlums came on Saturday and damaged fence and railings to gain access into the compound before forcing boarding students to vacate the facility.

She claimed the case was reported at Ipaja police station but that the police were incapacitated.

“When the case was reported, the police reluctantly followed us to the site after much pressure but could not act as the hoodlums continued with the erection of the structure,” she said.

Also speaking, Micheal Yakubu, the security guard, alleged that over 40 hoodlums, led by Kaka, invaded the school around 6 am on Saturday.

“They broke the wall, removed the two main gates to gain access, claiming that the land belonged to them. They brought in sand, blocks and started digging and erecting structure on the school field,” he said.

“After erecting the structure beyond nine coaches, they blocked the two entrances with blocks, put a small gate and locked it.”

It is understood that some of the students held a peaceful protest to condemn their forced eviction.

Benjamin Hundeyin, Lagos police spokesperson, who confirmed the incident, said the case was not a criminal case.

“The case is not a police case, it is a civil case. I will urge the parties not to take laws into their own hands, so that a civil case will not turn to a criminal case,” he said.