‘Save Lagos Group’ petitions Gov Sanwo-Olu over disrespect to court judgment by state government officials

..Calls for Governor urgent intervention.

A Civil Rights group, the Save Lagos Group (SLG) has written a
Petition Letter to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu,
over disrespect by the Executive Secretary, State Land Use Allocation
Committee to the judgment of the State High Court sitting in Ikeja and
also against the amicable resolution of the land matter involving a
Lagos based Medical practitioner, Dr. Adekunle Akinsanya.

Dr. Akinsanya,who is  also an indigene of the State, had been striving
since 1999 to take over the portion of the land allocated to him at
Ipaja Residential Scheme by the authority of the State government
after payment of the prescribed fees to the purse of the State
government for the purpose of the land.

The group also called for the urgent intervention of the State
Governor over the plight of Dr. Akinsanya who ran away from land
grabbers(Omo Onile),believing that the land acquired through the State
government would not have any problem, not knowing that the government
officials in-charge of land allocation in the State were original land
grabbers(Omo-Onile).

In a Petition Letter dated 14th May, 2020 with the title:”Report of
injustice of the Executive Secretary, Land Use Allocation Committee in
Lagos State and disobedience to the High Court Judgment in a suit
No:ID/726/2010, over Land allocation of 1000 square metre at Block
52A,Plot 22 at Ipaja Residential Scheme to Dr. Adekunle Akinsanya,
Save Lagos Group (SLG) is demanding for immediate allocation of land
to Dr. Akinsanya as approved in 1999 by the State government.”

The Petition Letter was signed by the Convener,Save Lagos Group (SLG),
Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman and forwarded to Governor
Sanwo-Olu,Speaker, State House of Assembly,State Attorney-General and
Commissioner for Justice,State Surveyor-General, Permanent
Secretary,Land Bureau and host of others, for their urgent
intervention and subsequent resolution of the land matter.

The copies of the Petition Letter were made available to newsmen on
Tuesday, Sulaiman who disclosed that the High Court in its ruling in
favour of Dr. Akinsanya, awarding a cost of N100,000 against the State
 government to be paying to the claimant (Akinsanya).

According to the Petition Letter; “Sir, several attempts were being
made by Dr. Adekunle Akinsanya, through some letters to the
appropriate quarters and concern agencies in the State so as to come
to his aid by prevailing on the government officials in-charge of
allocation of land to do so as approved.But while striving to get
his(Dr. Akinsanya) portion of land as paid for and approved by the
State government so as to commence the construction of residential
house as planned for,Dr. Adekunle Akinsanya got to know that the same
portion of land has been corruptly transferred to unknown person by
the officials of the Land Use Allocation Committee through the Survey
Plan No.LS/D/LKJ.

“SLG wishes to inform your good office that after Dr. Adekunle
Akinsanya exhausted all the passionate means to make the government
officials in-charge of the land allocation to allocate the said
portion of land to him as contained in the State government Letter
proved abortive and this informed Dr. Akinsanya to approach the State
High Court in a suit No.ID/726/2010, to seek redress where the
Presiding Judge, Justice O.S.Taiwo(Mrs.) gave the judgement in favour
of Dr. Adekunle Akinsanya.

“Despite the fact that Notice of Appeal with Appeal No.CA/L/1494/2018
filled by Lagos State government as Appellant/ Defendant through its
Counsel, Mrs. A.M. Salau, Deputy Director, Ministry of Justice,were
struck out as requested by the State government since 24th of
September,2019 which makes the State High Court Judgement on the
subject matter to subsist.The State government through its Land Use
Allocation Committee has refused to do the needful by allocating  the
portion of the Land to the claimant,Dr. Adekunle Akinsanya.

“The refusal of Land Allocation Committee necessitated this Petition
Letter from Save Lagos Group (SLG) and it is our believe that a
government should toe the path of sanity, progress, egalitarianism and
development of her  citizens.we also want to bring to your notice that
the Land Use Allocation Committee has been using bureaucratic
bottleneck to frustrate the efforts of the claimant (Dr. Adekunle
Akinsanya) to get his right portion of the land as paid for and
approved by the State government by misleading the State Ministry of
Justice to file the withdrawn and struck out Notice of Appeal.”

The group, then, demanded from Governor Sanwo-Olu to set up an
independent panel of inquiry on the subject matter in respect of land
allocation with reference number:-LU/RES/IPA/Block52A/Plot 22,with
amicable resolution of the land dispute within the 30 days of
receiving the Petition Letter.

It further demanded; “That if the State government had allocated the
portion of the land to unknown person either by omission/commission,
the claimant(Dr. Akinsanya) should be allocated with another portion
of the land within the Ipaja Residential Scheme and if the State
government could not re- allocate another portion of land to the
claimant within the Ipaja Residential Scheme again, the government
should ready to relocate the claimant to its another Residential
Scheme within the area in the State”.

Sulaiman therefore, vowed that if the State government through Land
Allocation Committee could not accede to various demands of the group
on the subject matter within the reasonable time, Save Lagos Group
(SLG) would be left with the options of approaching the Supreme Court
for final adjudication and other democratic means to ensure that the
State government did the needful on the subject matter.

Signed:
Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman,
(Revolutionary Alfa),
Convener, save Lagos Group(SLG)
+2348038591504 /+2348022697573