Land Grabbers Terrorize Lagos Residents, Vandalize Property

Residents of Santos Layout, Valley Estate, and surrounding communities in the Alimosho area of Lagos State accused suspected land grabbers and approximately 400 armed thugs of terrorizing their neighborhoods while enforcing a disputed court judgment from July 30 to August 1. During this three-day operation, homes and businesses were vandalized, with reports of shops being sealed, roofs removed from buildings, and property destroyed.

Funmilola Ajayi, a resident, described the violence, stating that those who did not comply with the thugs faced severe consequences. Saburi Odunmbaku, auditor of the Santos Layout Phase 1 Residents’ Association, asserted that their estate was lawfully established in 1976 and that they were not parties to the court case being enforced.

He claimed that the police were present but did not intervene as the thugs assaulted residents and journalists, including Eniola Daniel from The Guardian, who was forced to delete footage. The situation remained tense until it calmed down on Sunday.