It has become a trend for certain estates in Lagos to levy residents with outrageous sums of money. According to these associations, the levy is to develop the estate. I live in Magodo phase 2 and the resident's association MRA, of which I am not a member have imposed a levy of about N50,000 on residents living in my zone (Tokunboh Macauley and environs). Residents are subjected to untold hardship in the mornings in a bid to enforce this so called development levy. In my presence, one of the security guards empowered by the association used a large stone to hit a man's head yesterday (10.10.2011) simply because the man insisted on being allowed to pass the street gates. His crime? He had not paid the levy of N50,000. My question to learned people in the house, are estate levy's legal? Does one immediately belong to an Estate association simply because he resides in that estate or is he entitled to decide if he wants to be part of this association or not? Is it not illegal to impose a levy on someone who do not consider himself a member of such an association? More annoying is the fact that last year, residents of my zone were made to pay N48,000 and as at today, that money remains unaccounted for. The MRA claims that they were the ones who tarred the road (Tokunboh Macauley) when everyone knows Fashola repaired that road. I am tired of being harassed on a daily basis since the same scene reoccurred today. How do we put a stop to this menace?

Wrong section!

Contact a property/real estate Lawyer to read you your rights and possibly sue the living daylight out of the MRA!!

This is no small matter

Move to Sango/Ota environs, They pay only N1,500 per month, And you automatically become a member of the association. Your pocket no fit Magodo yet

I used to live on that same street and what the OP has said is quite true. Then I just used to fume within myself at the illegal fee collection activities of the MRA. And if you don't pay then you're not entitled to a car sticker without which you can't drive through one of the estate gates! I mean, it's da[i]m[/i]n ridiculous, it's like a parallel government. You can't imagine the traffic these people cause from 6am in the morning when they decide to do their stup[i]i[/i]d checks! Even people who have paid the illegal fees still get caught up in it.

The other day I had just bought a car and had one of the guys from the car shop drive it behind me as I drove home. As I got to the gate, I promptly explained to the security guys that the car behind was a new purchase and belonged to me (I was driving a car with the stup[i]i[/i]d sticker oo!), but they bluntly refused access to the new purchase. I tried a little more telling one of the morons that there was no way for the car to get the sticker until I had it registered but he went on saying it was against the estate rules to allow unregistered vehicles through that particular gate. Estate rules? On government roads? Now, how sensible is that?

And if you ask me, the roads generally are not fantastic. Neither is the power or water supply. You still have to provide those for yourself. You still have to pay for your garbage collection. So what exactly is the money used for? I have asked this before and the only sensible thing I heard was "payment of the security boys' salaries". But if the gun wielding boys decide to visit, these security guys bail out of sight like that's what they're trained to do (I no blame dem oo)

And its not just Magodo alone, many of these so-called 'estates' do the same crap. Shouldn't it be illegal for a group of people create their own set of rules outside of government law simply because they build gates onto government roads?

These are the kinds of things that shall continue to happen when the government itself is irresponsible. People begin to feel they have the power to create their own laws because they provide their own security.

Ijogz K:

Move to Sango/Ota environs, They pay only N1,500 per month, And you automatically become a member of the association. Your pocket no fit Magodo yet

You don't get it, do you?

I believe you, Such is also happening in the estate where i live, in Greenland Estate Along Lagos Ibadan, just some few kilometers after Ibafo, we will be locked in restrain resident from going to work in the morning, imposing high rate on resident, also you will be forced to pay asscociation fee which i am not a member, I urge the DPO of ibafo to come and save us from all dis bastard dictators they take themselves to be God and the most foolish among them is called

Alhaji (He works with UBA), Mr Adegoke, Ben (Secretary), Mr Adeshida and many others just because they are landlords.

God will purnish you all one after the other, (Amen)

Yet they collect our money and we don't see the usefulness

I am laughing at this thread; you cannot know why. Seriously though, you can sue if you are not happy. The argument sometimes is that it is a voluntary and collective agreement of the residents at their general meetings. I would also advise you to attend such meetings and influence the decision-making process there before it works against you.

it's called home owners association in the states. They usually let you know of such before you move to a neighborhood. They use such fees to maintain the area like the gardening garbage collection  etc. Welcome to the western way of doing things

@mactunji,

i agree with you. Most of this people dont attend meetings. In my Estate, i am always very happy to pay the dues because i can see what the estate is doing with it. I also make it a point of duty to attend meetings.

Is it N50,000.00 per annum or per month? If per annum, then it is no subject for discussion - quite reasonable.

You need to cup yourself a copy of the constitution and also get a lawyer on your payroll,

This is a ctually a subject for a very good debate. I think it is actually getting out of hand. The poster makes apoint, why should anyone stop you from driving ona government road when you have paid taxes already. No doubt, communal living is good and small fees for things like grass maintenance etc is ok. But how much can grass cutting cost and payment of security man that people must pay so much? Besides Magodo has lots of residents so the money should be spread around pretty thinly.

omega25red:

it's called home owners association in the states. They usually let you know of such before you move to a neighborhood. They use such fees to maintain the area like the gardening garbage collection  etc. Welcome to the western way of doing things

^^^I'll want to think that this will apply only to the home owners and not to people renting?

Also, if there's some sort of accountability, I think people will be more inclined to contribute towards the development/security of the environment where they reside.
In my opinion, it should be voluntary and not forced. The road is a government road and I did pay my rent and my tax.
In my opinion, the MRA (Magodo Residential Area) has no right to deny me freedom of movement for any reason what so ever. Not when I am not a member of their association. Last I heard, membership of association is not and can not be forced on any one. As such, any decisions taken at such association meetings are not binding on individuals who aren't members of such associations.
I think the trend continues because we continue to accept it.
A formal complaint of harassment was lodged at the police station yesterday and guess what, today the MRA was nowhere to be found around the estate gates.

maclatunji:

I am laughing at this thread; you cannot know why. Seriously though, you can sue if you are not happy. The argument sometimes is that it is a voluntary and collective agreement of the residents at their general meetings. I would also advise you to attend such meetings and influence the decision-making process there before it works against you.

^^^I would have thought that attending an associations meeting would be if I considered myself a member of such an association? Now if I do not want to be a part of an association, should their decision be binding on me? Voluntary is the keyword here.

Levies collection by all Community Development Associations in the Federal Republic of Nigeria is very legal under the constitution. The CDA has responsibility for security, sanitation, minor electrical maintenance and road maintenance and other collective actions on behalf of the community and liaising with other government organs.

The CDA is expected to drive the local development in the community and to coordinate community self-projects. There are many other quick jobs that could not be left to government through bureaucracy.

It is true that your lack of participation at meetings will rob you of information concerning activities of the CDA. The CDA allows instalmental payments, you can always pay in bits or en-bloc. You can dodge Federal and State payments but dodging the CDA is a bit difficult.

This is coming rather late. But I guess someone may just stray in here and pick something.
@ Imagineers
Does your legal also mean "compulsory and binding" on all residents, regardless of their membership? N which section of the constitution would confer this power on the CDA?

I think it is legal for a ''community" to impose levies or communal dues or even force a person to do some labour for the development of the community. This view is derived from Section 34 (1) (c) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which provides that every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person, and accordingly no person shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.

Subsection (2)(f) of section 34 further provides that for the purposes of subsection (1) (c) of this section, Forced or Compulsory labour does not include ''normal communal or other ''civic obligations'' for the well being of the community''.

Therefore, a person can be made to perform normal communal labour or perform other civic obligations for the well being of the community. In this case the MRA has the legal and moral right to ask residence of the Estate to perform their civic obligation (pay the agreed fees). It is now up to the residents to hold them accountable for the money so collected.

Ukpaindubuisi:
I think it is legal for a ''community" to impose levies or communal dues or even force a person to do some labour for the development of the community. This view is derived from Section 34 (1) (c) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which provides that every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person, and accordingly no person shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.

Subsection (2)(f) of section 34 further provides that for the purposes of subsection (1) (c) of this section, Forced or Compulsory labour does not include ''normal communal or other ''civic obligations'' for the well being of the community''.

Therefore, a person can be made to perform normal communal labour or perform other civic obligations for the well being of the community. In this case the MRA has the legal and moral right to ask residence of the Estate to perform their civic obligation (pay the agreed fees). It is now up to the residents to hold them accountable for the money so collected.

I think this doesn't make it legal for the MRA to do so. When it says "can be made" it didn't say "by the community". And "what is normal communal and civic obligations" is decided by who? Definitely not the community