Lagos State Government has advised all legitimate land and property owners in the State to perfect title documents and all other legal documents pertaining to their lands and properties.
Its says this will help put land grabbers at bay and ensure easy administration of justice in the event that such properties are forcefully taken.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the first Lagos State Real Estate Market Place Conference/Exhibition, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo explained that undocumented and incomplete transactions and untidy property documentation make it difficult for property forcefully taken to be retrieved through legal means.
According to him, “a large chunk of the land grabbing cases the Ministry of Justice through the Lagos State Special Taskforce on Land Grabbers (LSSTFLG) is working on is fraught with issues of improper and incomplete legal documentation and such issues causes delay in getting justice for rightful owners of land.
While noting that addressing land related conflict in urban cities like Lagos is important to peace building, the Attorney General noted that government is continuously making frantic efforts towards eradicating conflicts arising from land grabbing in the state.
In his word, the special status of Lagos as the commercial nerve Centre of Nigeria and indeed West Africa with a population of about 24 million people requires stiff measures against land grabbing as a means of saving lives and properties of Lagosians.
Onigbanjo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria disclosed that the drive towards reducing to the barest minimum the resultant effect of Land related conflicts and illegal activities of land grabbers whilst also protecting investment on properties and maintaining law and order prompted the Lagos State Government to enact the Lagos State Property Protection Law 2016.
He said the law prohibits the forceful entry and illegal occupation of landed property, and violent and fraudulent conduct in relation to landed properties in the state.
The Commissioner said the law also prescribes severe penalties with various prison terms for different offenses.
The Attorney General however said the issue of imperfect land documentation has not deterred the LSSTFLG from carrying out its mandate and getting justice for rightful owners of land from unscrupulous element who forcibly encroach and disposes them of their property.
He explained that the taskforce has continued to vigorously carry out its mandate to reduce to a barest minimum the activities of persons or corporate entities who use force and intimidation to dispossess or prevent any person or entity from acquiring legitimate interest and possession of property in Lagos State.
Onigbanjo disclosed that the LSSTFLG has since inauguration received over 4300 petitions adding that 2000 out of the petitions received have been concluded while others are currently being handled.
According to him, from the statistics, there is no doubt that there is an appreciable increase in number of citizens who now forward their complaints and petitions to the Taskforce for resolution of land grabbing cases, saying the taskforce holds this in part to intensified publicity and awareness campaign and testimonies of people who have had their cases resolved through the mechanism of the unit.
He urged the public to bring to the attention of the Taskforce on Land Grabbers any issue bordering on land grabbing by addressing such petition to his office or by calling the listed hotlines 09096667123, 09020085005.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria warned land grabbers to desist from their illicit trade stressing that government will through the task force enforce the State property protection law and bring the full wrath of the law on anybody who flout the law.