By Damilola Kushimo
A concerted plan of residents of Adebisi Omotola street, Isolo LCDA to sue the local council over the ownership of a property being used by the council to build a shopping complex is yet to see the light of day, no thanks to the on-going judicial workers’ strike.
Amidst the controversy, officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency on April 27, this year served a contravention notice on the site.
Nevertheless, the residents have started a whispering campaign telling anyone they see at the site making enquiries on how to buy the shops being built to beware of taking the risk.
They claim that only the judgment of the court of law could determine the fate of the property which they believed is theirs.
According to them, the piece of land on which the complex is being built is the community’s setback which is outside the council’s premises.
They claimed that the council encroached on their land to build the shopping complex without their consent, stating that they are waiting for the court to resume for them to take up the case.
As reported by ECHONEWS, the council had earlier challenged the residents of the community to head to court if they have the required documents to challenge the council’s claim on the piece of land.
According to the residents, the community is exploring all legal means to challenge the council’s claim over the piece of land and the legality of building shopping complex on it, warning that nobody should buy any of the shops as advertised by the council even as the construction work is going on.
They said they have petitioned the state government and all the concerned authorities including LABSCA and LASPPPA.
Meanwhile, personnel from LABSCA had earlier in the month carried out a partial demolition of the complex, accusing the council of disregarding the Contravention Notice the authority served on the building on Tuesday, April 27, 2021.
The contravention notice highlighted that the storey building complex contravenes the provision of Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2010 and previous enactments on urban and physical and Development.
