Though not restricted to the commercial city of Nigeria, Land grabbing has always been a big issue in Lagos state. Property investors were not protected under the law and were being taking advantage of by the popularly called “Omo Onile”, meaning in loose terms “Children of the land” and their sponsors, or privileged individuals who used force, threats and sometimes violence to unscrupulously take possession of land or property belonging to other persons. It is common to see or hear of a crowd of young men gather at the sites of undergoing private construction demanding for unaccountable levies and fines.


To say, these unlawful actions have plagued the real estate industry in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria, is to put it mildly. Sometimes, law enforcement agencies are also powerless to aid or act in certain situations. The property divisions of the law courts are filled with claims bothering on forceful and unlawful possession of land or property and have been in court for quite some time.
Lagosians can however smile and be relieved, as Governor Ambode on the 15th of August, 2016, signed into law, the LAW PROHIBITING FORCEFUL ENTRY AND ILLEGAL OCCUPATION OF LANDED PROPERTIES IN THE LAGOS STATE. This new Law protects the proprietary rights of Land and Property owners in Lagos State and also criminalizes actions of forceful and unlawful entry or occupation of premises.

The law states in Section 2(1), that –

“ As from the commencement of the law, no one shall use force or self-help to take over any landed property or engage in any act inconsistent with the proprietary right of the owner in the State.
Furthermore, subsection 2(two) states that persons who have used force to take over the properties of others and still do so after 3 months from the date of commencement of the law commit an offence. Anyone who commits such offence is liable to ten (10) years imprisonment.

https://etimesafrica./2016/09/01/%e2%80%8bgoodbye-omo-nileprovisions-of-the-lagos-state-properties-protection-law-2016/

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