TRADERS affected by the controversial demolition of Alaba International Market are considering litigation against the Lagos State government, as they hold a crucial meeting today, Saturday Tribune has learnt.

The multi-billion Naira popular market, located in Ojo Local Government Area of the state, recently had its furniture and fancy section demolished by agents of the state government, with affected traders still mourning their losses.

About 80 buildings, housing plazas and churches were allegedly demolished, with about 1,000 traders said to be affected.

Some of the victims who spoke to Saturday Tribune claimed to have lost hundreds of millions of naira worth of property and goods to the exercise.

They denied receipt of any evacuation notice from either the Lagos State government or the State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) prior to the commencement of the demolition exercise on Sunday, June 25.

Contrary to the claim, during a visit to the market, Saturday Tribune saw notices to vacate some distressed-looking buildings. The notices were issued in 2023 by LASBCA.

The traders however insisted that the enforcement team of LASBCA and the Lagos State Task Force only served demolition order on them penultimate Friday and alleged the expiration of the notice in just about three hours, before state agents began pulling down their buildings.

They also contradicted the government’s claim that only distressed buildings were pulled down.

However, a viral video seen by Saturday Tribune supported this claim, as a building which appeared recently-built was seen being demolished by the agency.

The demolition team was captured, having a hard time tearing down the painted building identified as the secretariat of the traders’ union in the market.

Some of the traders who lost fortunes to the controversial exercise are thinking litigation against the state government and its agencies for “unjust and illegal demolition of their property.”

Chief Executive Officer of VIP Foams, Victor Onyema, said he lost N500 million to the demolition, alleging that he lost a two-storey building which he built two years ago, a multi-million naira foam shop and his home.

According to him, the loss is affecting his sanity, almost leading him to depression.

He shared his ordeal with Saturday Tribune: “On Friday, a team of officials from the Lagos State Building Control Agency and the Lagos State Task Force came to mark some buildings in the market and wrote on the walls, ‘Quit immediately’.

“The quit notice was pasted on Friday, June 23, and while we were discussing on what to do, on Sunday, June 25, we were told that caterpillar was already in the market demolishing our property. One of my buildings was among the demolished buildings.

“My building was not distressed. I built it two years ago. All my property and goods were damaged and lost to the hoodlums. I lost over N500 million to the demolition. The whole of Alaba Market is worth several billions of naira. We watched as they destroyed our property. They didn’t allow us to move close but allowed scavengers and hoodlums to steal our goods. It was an act of wickedness.

“The shock is so much that I decided not to stay indoors to avoid going into depression or committing suicide.”

Secretary, Elders’ Council of Alaba International Market, Mr Chimo Amos, said he lost two buildings, including a plaza, to the demolition.

He alleged the involvement of Chinese investors in the market who, according to him, want to acquire a portion of the demolished market.

He said: “I have two buildings which have been reduced to rubble. One of the buildings served as a plaza and the other one was at the roofing stage.

“I am a stakeholder in the market. I am the secretary of the elders’ council of the market. It is quite unfortunate. I don’t have the right words to describe the situation.

“My buildings were not in any way distressed. They claimed they gave us notice but that is not true. They came on Friday to inform us that they would commence demolition; we were caught unawares. So, we decided to go to the council to discuss the way out with the council chairman but he wasn’t in office. His Personal Assistant told us to put our request in writing and advised us to come back on Monday.

“But before the appointed day, LASBCA and the Lagos Task Force had stormed the market to demolish the buildings. Friday was their first time of issuing a notice and under the law, can there be any justification for the demolition? We have been hearing a lot of things but we don’t know the motive. We are hearing that the Chinese are interested in acquiring the demolished portion but we don’t know the truth.”

It’s land grabbing, not politics —Affected APC chair

Chairman, Furniture and Fancy section of the market, Alex Chukwuma, hinted at the possibility of the traders dragging the Lagos State government to court on the matter.

He said: “We don’t need any explanation. The reason we are seated here is because we are idle. Our plaza and wares have been destroyed by the Lagos State government and LABSCA.

“I have nothing to say because the Amalgamated Union of Traders is handling the matter. We are businessmen whose shops were in good condition but all of a sudden, they came on Friday night and pasted evacuation notice and ordered us to leave immediately.

“They started demolition on Saturday night. Six buildings were marked for demolition in our axis and ours was not included. My building was not marked for demolition but I was shocked that it was among the demolished buildings. My building was not distressed but was demolished.

“The reasons unmarked buildings were demolished is best known to LABSCA and the Lagos State government and we are waiting for them to tell us because our buildings were in good shape.”

Also, Chairman, Elders council of Fancy and Furniture, Alaba International Market, Ojo, Chief Cosmos Obi, disclosed that over 80 buildings housing plazas and churches were demolished and 1,000 traders were affected.

He alleged that the demolition was the handiwork of some land grabbers who have been scheming to take control of the market. He declared that the demolition had nothing to do with politics.

He narrated how officials of the Lagos State Task Force and LABSCA invaded the market in the middle of the night to demolish the Furniture and Fancy section of the market, thereby giving leeway to hoodlums to cart away goods worth millions of naira.

He said, “When I heard that distressed buildings were to be demolished by the Lagos State Government through LABSCA, I felt it would only affect the shanties but they went beyond distressed buildings to destroy multi-million naira plazas and businesses.

“Some of the buildings that were demolished were newly-built. Some were not more than two years old. In fact, the caterpillar couldn’t pull down some of the buildings easily. Can we call such buildings distressed? Based on my observations, some land grabbers who wanted to take possession of the market were behind the demolition. It has nothing to do with politics.

“There is nothing political about the demolition because I am the All Progressives Congress, APC, South-East chairman in Ojo Local Government. Therefore, saying the demolition is political is like saying that I am also involved in the demolition.

“So far, about 80 buildings housing plazas and churches have been demolished and over 1,000 traders were affected. The governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is a nice man. We have fixed an appointment with him for a way out of the situation we found ourselves.

“I am sure he is not happy about the ugly development and I am sure he will address it. I have been trading here since 1980 and if there was any letter notifying us of any impending demolition, I would know. I am very close to the Ojo Local Government chairman and the Lagos APC chairman, so if there is any notice about the demolition, I would know and I tell you there was none.

“They came on Thursday, pasted notice and marked the walls of plazas in the market. I hurriedly went to the council chairman but he was not in office and his personal assistant booked us for Monday. Unfortunately, they started demolition around 2.00 a.m. on Saturday. The security man called us and people rushed down to get their wares to safety. In fact, hoodlums had a field day carting away goods worth millions of naira.

“Many of us are left with no shop to trade and some have become penniless because of the demolition. We are consulting and planning on how to see the governor and other stakeholders to know the next line of action.”

Eze Chukwuemeka Silvanus Nwosu expressed shocked over the demolition of businesses that were seated on over three hectares of land.

He said, “I was in Abuja when I heard that the Lagos State government gave traders at the market three hours to move out of their shops and offices on Saturday. I thought it was a joke but surprisingly, on Sunday morning when I was going to church, there was a caterpillar already stationed at the market ready for demolition.

“They demolished plazas seated on more than three hectares of land. You can see the quantum of destruction. So, we want to know what metamorphosed into this. We want to know if there was a notice served on the traders before the demolition and also we would like to know the interest of the government on the land. They said the buildings were distressed but even the building that they are still demolishing, does it appear to you like a distressed building?

“So, this is not about distressed buildings; there are lots of things to it? We are having a meeting on Saturday, June 27 (today) and the outcome of our meeting will determine the next line of action. Going to court is the last option we will explore.”

A sorry sight

Going through the crowd of traders in the market to inspect the scene of the demolition, Saturday Tribune found many of the affected traders and business owners in small groups watching helplessly as officials of the Lagos Taskforce levelled the buildings that were housing their shops.

Affected traders claimed they rented the shops without knowing the buildings were having problems, since 2016.

“We are currently stranded, as you can see. We have become strangers in our own country,” one of the traders, Chukwuemeka Lawrence, told Saturday Tribune. He claimed to have lost three shops to the demolition out of the 100 shops in the plaza.

He said: “Life has not be easy. Our customers can no longer locate us. Look at how we are scattered. We are a people that are ready to work but look at us now, we are just sitting helplessly. Some of the materials we worked with have been taken home because we don’t have a place to keep them here anymore, and you can’t say you want to go home and bring them.

“No place to keep my goods. I live in the Shinbi area, along Badagry Road. I lost three shops to the demolition. Some of my goods also got missing.

“Really, the authority had come here severally since 2016, marking buildings, but didn’t give us mandate to move. They didn’t give mandate. There is something called mandate, saying from now on till month end, you have to move out.

“Apart from our shopping plaza, the government’s bulldozers demolished other buildings within the vicinity.”

Another trader, Ike Okworoji, cried out, saying it would be difficult to survive. He beggedthe state government to invest in the locality by rebuilding the shopping plazas so that traders can take them up to store and display their goods.

“If government can come in and rebuild the shopping plazas and rent them out at affordable prices,we are ready to pay because a lot of people are stranded,” he said.

Okworoji said a shop in the market is between N30,000 and N40,000 monthly.

Another affected trader and shop owner, Matthew Chibuzor, claimed to have paid for the shop two years ago without knowing that the property was distresses.

Why we went in —LASBCA spokesman

Spokesperson for LASBCA, Adetayo Akitoye- Asagba, told Saturday Tribune,that: “The agency mobilised its demolition team to pull down the distressed buildings being used for commercial purposes within Alaba International Market in the Ojo area of the state.”

She said the 17 distressed buildings in Alaba were not part of the identified 349 distressed buildings, on which the owners have been asked to do integrity test.

General Manager of LASBCA, Gbolahan Oki, had earlier claimed that after an assessment visit to buildings marked for demolition, final warnings and vacation notices were issued to the occupants.

He decried the alleged what he called the harassment meted out to tofficials of the agency at different times in the past in the market, saying seven-year notification was enough for the occupants of the demolished buildings to vacate.

“These buildings marked within this Alaba International Market would have been included in the list of 349 distressed building earlier published in different national newspapers this year but because the occupants were always harassing our officers , it was impossible to capture the details of the structures and include them in the publication.

“What we have done now is a joint exercise carried out by both the Lagos Task Force officers and the demolition gang of Lagos State Building Control Agency.

“We know that this area is a commercial center and one of the busiest markets in Lagos State but despite this, we cannot fold our arms and allow irregularities to continue to thrive in the market where lives of innocent persons would be put at risk because of the failure of a few set of individuals who have refused to do the needful,” he said. (Saturday Tribune)

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