Lagos Court Orders Status Quo In Owode Onirin Market Dispute, Adjourns Demolition Case
Lagos Court Orders Status Quo In Owode Onirin Market Dispute, Adjourns Demolition Case
The judge ordered all parties involved in the matter to maintain the status quo pending further hearing.
Justice M. A. Savage of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, the state capital, has adjourned the ongoing legal dispute involving the Owode Onirin Motor Spare Parts Market to October 13, 2025.
The judge ordered all parties involved in the matter to maintain the status quo pending further hearing.
The case which involves B. I. Olowu vs Shomolu Local Government and Kosofe Local Government with Suit No. ID/1757/1994 stems from a controversial demolition of over 500 shops in the bustling Owode Onirin market, allegedly carried out by a suspected landgrabber with the backing of armed thugs and police officers in the early hours of March 6, 2025.
SaharaReporters had reported that the Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR) raised the alarm in March over the alleged unlawful invasion and demolition of over 500 shops at the market by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).
The demolition took place in the early hours of March 6, when LASBCA officials, allegedly accompanied by police officers and armed thugs, stormed the market to enforce a court judgment against the neighbouring Agbajoowo Market.
The agency was reportedly enforcing a court judgment against the neighbouring Agbajoowo Market, but traders claimed that LASBCA wrongfully extended the exercise into Owode Market, destroying hundreds of shops in the process.
Following the incident, the traders staged a peaceful protest and submitted petitions to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly and the Governor on March 27.
When the state government failed to take action, the affected traders returned to court to revive an ongoing legal matter: B.I. Olowu vs Shomolu Local Government and Kosofe Local Government (Suit No. ID/1757/1994), which is currently before the High Court in Ikeja.
According to the traders, the demolition occurred on March 6 around 4:30 a.m., with goods worth millions of naira destroyed.
On Wednesday, June 2, 2025, Justice Savage granted an injunction ordering all parties to maintain the status quo pending the final determination of the suit and adjourned the case to July 2 for a further hearing.
But despite the court order, the traders alleged that on June 19, 2025, the same suspected landgrabber returned with hundreds of thugs and dozens of armed policemen to continue the demolition.
“The invading team shot sporadically to disperse traders and facilitate the destruction, injuring several individuals in the process,” one of the affected traders said on behalf of the shop owners.
“We have both pictorial and video evidence of the invasion and its aftermath.”
They further alleged that officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) were also involved in the operation, reportedly using their towing vehicles to remove cars from the market premises.
SaharaReporters also reported in June that CHSR accused suspected land grabbers of launching a fresh armed invasion on the market, resulting in further demolition of shops and injuries to traders.
In a statement dated June 19, 2025, and addressed to the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2, Onikan, Lagos, CHSR President, Comrade Alex Omotehinse, alleged that the crisis has escalated due to repeated attacks carried out with the support of armed policemen.
As the legal battle continues, the traders say they are placing their hope in the judiciary to deliver justice, while calls intensify for the Lagos State Government to investigate the demolition and the alleged complicity of state actors.
