Bloodbath was narrowly averted early on Monday morning, when land speculators in company of thugs and armed policemen invaded Kudeti street in the highbrow Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja, Lagos, forcefully ejecting residents of the area.
The thugs who were wielding dangerous weapons and equipped with painting materials were going from house to house armed with a court order and forcing people out of their respective homes with their property in the full glare of gun- toting policemen numbering about 30.
Eyewitness account said the infuriated residents and landlords trooped out enmasse and confronted the invaders alleging that they were flaunting fake court judgment with a view to forcefully dispossess their hard- earned properties from them.
One of the residents who identified himself as a customs officer said he had been living in the estate for over twenty years. He recalled that in 1986, the same people invaded the estate with same fake court judgment and embarked on massive destruction of properties including forcing residents out of their homes.
According to him, the then commissioner of Police, Young Arebamen, who was alerted, swiftly took action and arrested some of them.
“We learnt that when investigation to confirm the authenticity of their court order was conducted by the police, it was discovered to be fake. They were taken to court and jailed. We don’t know what happened to the policemen that accompanied them to carry out that illegal mission. But we were very happy with the police boss for coming to our aid.
“Today, they are back again after the kingpins completed serving their prison terms with the same fake court order and in company of such a large number of policemen,” he said
It was gathered that the thugs later left after they saw that the residents were poised for action and the quick intervention of some elders who pleaded for truce. They, however, left after pasting court papers on the walls and gates of all the buildings there and defacing the walls with inscriptions claiming that they have taken ownership.
Efforts to contact the Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu or his spokesman, failed.
(Vanguard)
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