There was pandemonium in Akowonjo, Alimosho Local Council area of Lagos yesterday, Friday, July 31, 2026, as members of a family stormed the area with armed police officers attached to the Lagos State Taskforce to claim a 56.570 hectares of land.

The takeover which took place on Thursday, July 30, 2026 is in connection with a 2003 court judgement.

The affected areas include a long stretch of property along Akowonjo Road housing banks, eateries, schools, businesses, Santos Phases 1 and 2, Valley Estate, and others.

Residents and business owners who spoke with The Guardian said they woke up to find notices pasted on property claiming

Ownership of the land and police scattered around the area.

According to the notice pasted on walls, the judgment creditors said 56.570 hectares of the community, the equivalent of at least 79 standard football pitches, belong to them under a 2003 High Court judgment.

The notice cited Suit No: ID/1537/90 Alhaji Ashafa Ogundare & 2 others vs Lababedi Brothers Trading Limited, with judgment delivered on November 26, 2003 by Justice A. A. Phillips of the Ikeja High Court.

It stated: “All persons on the Claimants/Judgement-Creditor… land without title derived from the said Judgment Creditor Family are adjudged trespassers and illegal occupiers thereon.”

The notice added that steps had been taken to take vacant possession of the land in accordance with provisions of the law and advised affected persons to contact the family attorney.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, did not pick calls as of the time of this report. (The Guardian, but headline reworked)