Peter Obi, Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections has condemned the unlawful the demolition of a property belonging to his younger brother located in Ikeja, the capital city of Lagos state.
Obi who disclosed this in a post via his verified X handle said the property which stood for 15 years in Ikeja was levelled by unknown individuals with fake court order.
He wrote: “This morning, my youngest brother called me frantically, informing me that a group of people had invaded his company property in Ikeja, Lagos, and were demolishing the building.”
“He had just come in from Port Harcourt and was denied entry to the property by security men who told him the building was being pulled down. They even informed him that this demolition had started over the weekend.
“As a peace-loving Nigerian, he quickly started processing to go to court immediately, not knowing what must have resulted in this, as they moved fast to destroy his home without any restraint.”
Obi said that on receiving the information, he visited the site but was almost barred by security operatives from having access.”
“I humbly pleaded with them that the property belonged to my brother’s company, and from the records, the company had owned the property for over a decade. They told me they had a court judgment, and I immediately requested it. You would not believe that the court judgment they claim was issued against an unknown person, and squatters.”
“I went further to ask about a demolition order or permit, and there was none.“How do you sue an unknown person? How does a court issue a judgment in such a farce of a case? No one was served. No name was written. Yet they showed up with excavators and began destroying a structure that had stood for over 15 years,” he said.
Although the former Anambra governor did not point accusing finger at anyone as masterminds of the demolition, some netizens were quick to accuse the Lagos state Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab as being responsible.
Meanwhile, Sanwo-Olu’s aide came to Wahab’s defence, saying, “Tokunbo Wahab won’t come out to answer questions about a demolition he never sanctioned.
“Peter Obi should report the matter to the police. They will help him find people who ordered the building’s demolition.
”Ajetunmobi further urged the public to keep Wahab out of the discussion because the commissioner’s job description doesn’t include the issuance of court judgment, which Obi claimed was presented to him by those who demolished his brother’s property.
According to the aide, “Whatever game Peter Obi wants to play, first things first – Who is responsible for the demolition has to be well stated. If he can’t reach them, he should go to the police station and report. A commissioner who doesn’t issue court orders should not be questioned.
“People probably think HC Tokunbo Wahab’s primary job is to demolish people’s houses.“They can’t differentiate between removal of contraventions along drainage/canal’s right-of-way and demolition of distressed buildings, which is out of HC Wahab’s purview.”