Protests, legal action as FHA demolishes illegal structures in FESTAC

The demolition of houses at FESTAC town in Lagos has continued to generate mixed reactions after the exercise which occurred in the last week of November. The demolition exercise was the culmination of weeks and months of engagement between the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and the landlords in the area. Daily Trust reports that emotions […]

The demolition of houses at FESTAC town in Lagos has continued to generate mixed reactions after the exercise which occurred in the last week of November.

The demolition exercise was the culmination of weeks and months of engagement between the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and the landlords in the area.

Daily Trust reports that emotions ran high when bulldozers pulled down multimillion naira properties in the FESTAC town of Lagos State with many landlords breaking down in tears.

The houses mostly affected were FESTAC Phase 2 and Abule Ado Estate under Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State.

Many of the residents are still in shock over the demolition, saying their life savings had gone.

The FHA, however, raised several issues which warranted the demolition; chief among which were false documentation and inappropriate location.

The authority had marked over 677 houses and 744 others respectively for total and partial demolition.

Prior to the demolition exercise which started on November 26, the authority had invited homeowners under an exercise called VRR (Verification, Regularisation and Recovery).

Daily Trust learnt that most of the house owners had bought their land from some private estates including Stone Water Estate, Ezi Gold Estate, King’s Royal Estate, among others.

But following the commencement of demolition, there have been different rhetorics about it. From allegations of ethnic targeting, to politics and even accusations of bribery, lamentations have continued to trail the demolition.

One of the affected owners who simply identified herself as Mrs Igwe said she bought the land through an estate agent oblivious that the document given to her was not genuine.

Mrs Igwe added that she used her life savings to build her four-bedroom bungalow which was bulldozed within minutes.

“It is a traumatising moment for all of us who have now been rendered homeless suddenly. We saw a notice that the federal government was going to demolish but we never knew it would be that early. We have been making frantic efforts to regularise with the authorities but they didn’t temper justice with mercy at all,” she said.

The genesis

Over the years, there has been a running battle between the FHA and the house owners, especially over the development of Phase 2 housing estate.

The FHA had designed the second phase with a standard layout for development. However, due to litigation that arose with some families and subsequent court orders, the development was delayed.

It was, however, learnt that some people capitalised on the delay by selling parts of the land to individuals. However, FHA after noticing the massive encroachment quickly placed caveats; warning members of the public to avoid buying lands from such individuals.

Members of the public were also advised to visit FHA offices for legal searches before transacting any business with respect to the land.

But those who allegedly bought lands from various individuals without verifying with the FHA started developing the land without getting the requisite documentation. Many were said to have built houses without approvals and against the master plan. Houses were also built at the centre of major roads, very close to the canal with no proper setbacks, and very close to oil pipelines.

The FHA in a statement disclosed that the initial attempt to rectify the anomaly was met with stiff resistance.

“The authority’s attempt at checking this was met with heavy resistance. Armed thugs molested and beat up staff on development control duties, and in many instances, the staff were beaten to a near point of death,” it said.

The authority stated that it, in 2018, sought the collaboration of the Lagos State government to provide security and enable staff to enter the site on official duties, adding that even though the team started serving ‘Stop Work’ orders and eviction notices in 2019, it was not until 2021 that they decided to embark on the demolition of “these illegal and substandard structures that had rapidly sprung up in total disregard to the existing layout, and in defiance of the numerous `Stop Work’ orders that were issued by the authority.”

Reacting to the ethnic colouration that trailed the demolition, the FHA stated that, “These narratives have been tailored towards falsehood with the intention to create mischief of ethnic dimension. Management wishes to put the records straight and correct the erroneous impression of ethnic targeting being peddled by mischief makers, especially those who are serial land grabbers.”

According to the FHA, such illegal structures pose dangers to the public, hence its determination to carry out the demolition.

The authority said such substandard buildings under construction in the encroached areas were on swampy land, with high chances of collapse due to soil type and behaviour and therefore requiring both professional approvals and supervision.

They further noted that some of the structures were at the centre of major roads because they were built outside the master plan. Also, “the buildings never had approvals and were not supervised by approved professionals as provided by law, such that FHA cannot vouch for their structural integrity.

“Other structures were on road setbacks, drains and other infrastructures. Houses were built below the level of the roads and prone to collapse because of soil settings.”

However, our correspondent learnt that after several appeals from some of the affected persons, who accepted to have illegally built on government land, the authority said they had initially decided to reconsider the exercise after a stakeholders’ meeting in FESTAC Town in January 2022.

It was at that forum that the FHA decided to reconsider the demolition exercise to save many buildings without necessarily compromising standards.

The stakeholders’ meeting however came with caveats which include that all developments along the roads must be demolished; all buildings close to the canal, and pipelines must go; and that every building not certified by FHA officials must undergo integrity tests; and that all forms of developments must stop.

They said contravention notices and conditions for regularisation were served on affected buildings through the VRR exercise.

But the FHA insisted that many house owners failed to agree with the term while more houses were being constructed.

This was why the FHA decided to move in and serve notices of demolition from September 2023.

“Management wants to state here that there are many buildings that are standing in this area. There are also hundreds of buildings that are undergoing regularisation. The Federal Housing Authority would not wait until a building collapses in this area before reacting. Our proactive action which predates now is to save impending danger that looms around this area of Festac.”

Legal battle ensued 

Following the planned demolition, some homeowners approached the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, on November 29, 2023 to restrain the FHA and Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) from further demolition.

In a suit filed by Samuel Ahmed, Martinson Realtors Investment Limited, Taoheed Amusa and R. Balogun to stop the  demolition, the trial judge, Justice Omolade Awope, granted the order, restraining the first defendant/respondent from demolishing and/or removing any building or property erected in 6th Avenue Festac Town or any other part of Festac Town in alleged enforcement of ‘Town Planning Laws’ pending the applicant’s compliance with the Lagos State High Court Practice Directions No. 2 of 2019 on Pre-action Protocol.

The order was a sequel to the motion exparte by the claimants, who adduced 10 grounds upon which they sought the order

 Lawmakers wade in 

The National Assembly has intervened in the matter in a bid to find an amicable resolution.

The Chairman of Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs, who is also Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Senator Victor Umeh, led the owners of houses in the Abule-Ado area of Festac, Lagos State, to FHA Headquarters in Abuja where they met with the managing director, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, and the General Manager of Zonal Coordination of FHA, Barrister Hajara Kadiri, with a view to resolving all the issues that led to the demolition of houses in FESTAC.

Emerging from the closed-door meeting, the group led by its chairman, Chief Henry Arinzechi, while expressing satisfaction with the resolutions reached at the meeting said the matter has been brought to a favourable conclusion.

Another follow-up meeting with Chairman of Senate Committee on Land, Housing and Urban Development, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, also facilitated by Senator Umeh, was held in a bid to resolve the impasse.

Speaking with our correspondent, a real estate expert, Dennis Isong, said the lesson of the FESTAC demolition was for all prospective land buyers to navigate the process of buying land with diligence and awareness.

“Acquiring the necessary certificates is a pivotal step to ensure a secure and lawful transaction,” he said.

He listed important certificates to be possessed to include Certificate of Occupancy (CofO); Survey Plan; Deed of Assignment; Governor’s Consent; Excision; Approved Building Plan; Tax Clearance Certificate; Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), among others.