Armed Thugs !nvade Lagos Widow’s Makoko Home At 2am, B£at Daughter, Remove Roof Over Land Dispute
Armed Thugs Invade Lagos Widow’s Makoko Home At 2am, Beat Daughter, Remove Roof Over Land Dispute
A video obtained by SaharaReporters shows one of the widow’s daughters appealing for help while describing the attack and the family’s ongoing dispute over ownership of the property.
Agroup of suspected thugs invaded the home of a widow in the Makoko community, Yaba, Lagos Mainland, attacking and injuring her and her daughter before forcefully evicting the family and a tenant from the property.
The incident reportedly occurred at approximately 2am at No. 20 Erejuwa Street, Makoko, Lagos. The attackers reportedly arrived with guns and machetes, threatening the occupants and removed roofing sheets from the house.
A video obtained by SaharaReporters shows one of the widow’s daughters appealing for help while describing the attack and the family’s ongoing dispute over ownership of the property.
The daughter, who sustained an injury around her jaw, said the attackers had previously threatened her mother and her tenants in an attempt to take possession of the family’s land.
She explained that the men claimed to be from Abule and Moje and arrived during the night to force the widow out of her home.
“At 2am in the midnight, they came, thugs. They said they are from Abule, they are from Moje. They came with guns and machetes to seize my mother’s land,” the daughter said in the video.
She further noted that the attackers had been threatening her mother because she is a widow and an orphan without anyone to defend her.
“They said because she doesn’t have anything, that they will collect the land from her by force. They now sent thugs,” she alleged.
According to the daughter, the attackers began damaging the property, breaking parts of the house and removing the roofing sheets while threatening the occupants.
She also claimed that the family was warned against recording the incident or documenting the destruction.
“Even this video I’m making, they’re threatening us not to make video. Eh? Is this okay?” she asked.
The daughter appealed to residents of Makoko, members of the Ilaje community and relevant authorities to intervene and help her mother recover and protect the property.
“People of Makoko, come and help us. Come and help us, Ilaje people. Come and help us. Whoever it is that you can help us, come and help my mother gain her land back,” she pleaded.
She maintained that the family possessed documents relating to the property and disputed claims that her mother had sold the land.
“We have all our documents. We have everything. Look at what they did. They came with guns in the middle of the night and started breaking the house, breaking it, removing the roofs. This is wicked. This is injustice,” she said.
The daughter further stated that the attackers claimed the land had been sold to a person identified as Honourable Timothy.
She, however, stated that her mother had not authorised any sale, stating that a ‘tout in the Makoko community sold the property without the family’s knowledge or consent.
“They said that they sold the land to Honorable Timothy. I don’t know who the person is. It is not my mother that sold the land, though,” she said.
“It is a tout in the area of Makoko community that sold the land without my mother’s notice, and they came in the middle of the night with guns and threatened her, and threatened her with her tenant.”
According to her account, the occupants were ordered to leave the house under threats of death if they refused to comply.
She said the widow and her tenant were removed from the property, adding that the family feared for their safety.
“That if she did not come out, they would kill her. That’s my mother there talking. That is her,” the daughter said, pointing towards her mother in the video.
The daughter also appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Bayo Adefuye, the Chairman of the Yaba Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Lagos State, to investigate the incident and intervene in the dispute.
“Let the president look into this matter. Let the local government chairman look into this matter. Let Adefuye look into this matter,” she pleaded.
She explained that individuals claiming ownership of land across Makoko had targeted her mother because of her vulnerable circumstances.
“People who call themselves… they say that they are the owner of all the whole land in Makoko community. They say my mother does not have anything. She does not have no one, so they will collect the land from her,” she said.
The daughter questioned whether a woman could legally occupy and retain land inherited from her father, insisting that the property belonged to her family.
“Can a woman occupy a land… The land that she inherited from our own father, my grandfather,” she asked.
She identified the disputed location as No. 20 Erejuwa Street, Makoko, and noted that the house had been demolished, leaving the land vacant.
“This is No. 20, Erejuwa Street. If you go to No. 20, Erejuwa Street, you will see that the house has been demolished. The land is now barren, and they have sold it without our own notice, and they want to use force to evict her from there,” she alleged.
The family called on relevant government authorities, community leaders and members of the public to investigate the alleged attack, protect the widow and address the ownership dispute through lawful means.
