Landlord Blocked By Neighbour Scales Fence Into His House After 15 Years

MICHAEL AKINOLA

Freedom of movement and unhindered access for citizens may have been a mirage for a landlord, Martin Egbunihe, who had been blocked access by fellow landlord, Ishola Idowu, for the past 15 years in Igando area of Lagos.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the house in question is located at former 45, Nureni Agbolagbade Avenue,  now 45, Alhaji Kareem Paku, off Alhaji Ede Bus Stop, Igando, Lagos State.

The landlord, Ishola, Idowu, who returned from USA wanted to expand his storey building and took advantage of Egbunihe’s absence from his house due to a fatal accident he had and blocked the street access to his property despite protests from the Landlords Association members.             
Mr. Ishola, who had thought Egbunihe will die in the accident, quickly erected the fence to cover Egbunihe’s own building to take over his building.

However, Egbunihe did not die as a result of the accident after spending a long time at the Orthopaedic hospital and eventually recovered.

When Egbunihe recovered and went to inspect his house, he discovered that his neighbour, Ishola, had used a wall to block the entrance to his house. When he confronted him, Ishola asked him to sell his house to him or he will not have access to his own house.

The alleged provocative and unlawful actions by Idowu was said to have been reported to the original family land owners of the area, who after confronting Idowu without success, in collaboration with some residents, took the matter to the Oba of Igando, Oba Gbadamosi. 

                                 

The Oba, who allegedly was aware of issues surrounding Idowu’s purchase of land in the area, intervened and set up a committee, which agreed in their deliberations that Idowu must pull down the obnoxious fence blockade, which hindered Egbunihe from having access into his house.      
                                                                         

 Ishola, who allegedly is notorious in the area for his reckless flaunting of wealth and boasting of high contacts in government, allegedly disregarded the Oba’s committee decision.

The Oba’s peace committee report compelled Egbunihe to petition the Lagos State Government, through the office of the Physical Planning on the 2nd of October, 2013,  which was responded to by the same office on 18th February, 2014, through a letter signed on behalf of the Permanent Secretary in the  Ministry, by (TPL ) Mr. Adams Raji, (PTPO Technical Service Department).             

      
The Ministry subsequently despatched a team led by Mr. Murtata Adekunle Balogun to the area; the Physical Planning officers marked the controversial fence illegal and ordered for its demolition.                   
However, the Physical Planning office was yet to demolish the said blockade, as residents alleged that they were compromised by the same Ishola Idowu.

For several years, Egbunihe had been trapped as two of his neighbours constructed their fences on one end and a building on the other end, thereby preventing him and his vehicle from gaining access to his home.                                                               

 Egbunihe also alleged that Idowu Ishola erected a fence on a portion of the road set aside by government as the entrance to his property, thereby leaving inadequate space for his cars to go through.                                                                                                                                      

According to him,  ”Idowu’s fence is illegal and had been  declared so by the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, which had marked the said fence for demolition, as it contravened building regulations”.   

Egbunihe said: “For over 7 years, Idowu has failed, neglected and refused to act, despite all entreaties and potential tenants have refused to rent my property because of the limited access,  thereby leaving the building unoccupied”.                                                                                                                       

 In his petition, he said,  ”I bought two plots of land located at the above address, from the Igando community,  receipted and surveyed. My property used to be accessed from the southern end but when the government expanded and fenced Alimosho  General Hospital, there was a common access left adjacent to Number 43, which was my former second plot on the same  Street, now taken away from me by Mr. Ishola Idowu”.                                  
“I had started developing part of the land in 1994, after surveying the two plots before I had a ghastly motor accident, which took me away to an orthopaedic hospital in Enugu State, where I underwent series of surgeries for more than one year and survived.”                                                           

  “When I recovered and rejoined my family in Lagos,  I visited the  property and discovered that one out of my two plots of land,  had been collected by one Mr. Ishola Idowu and he had started building, living one part on which I built a three bedroom flat.I struggled and made several efforts to recover the plot, as I went and consulted the Oba of Igando. The Oba pleaded with me to accept my faith and develop the one plot that I had already started work on. When I went back for medical check up at the  Orthopedic hospital in Enugu, before i  returned, same Mr. Idowu had constructed a fence and blocked an entrance to my remaining plot of land, thereby denying me access to my house.” 
              

 ”I invited the Igando community, (omo–onile ) land sellers and Landlords Association, who went to discuss with Mr. Idowu.”                                                                                                     

  “After all efforts failed, the Igando community and land seller gave me a space from another street called ‘Naiyeju’, adjacent to my house, about 15 feet wide, as an alternative way to enter with a car, which I immediately put a small gate, about 3 to 4 feet  from my fence to the space.”   

               
“Surprisingly,  one man by name Mr. Raphael  (a.k.a  Baba Laide), a block maker, whose office was very close to the space, went and built three rooms on the space that was given to me as an  alternative and blocked me from Naiyeju Street.”                                                                                                           

“For over 15 years now,  I have been pleading with Idowu and  Baba Laide with cartons of drinks and money,  to release about 8 feet of those lands to allow a vehicle to enter into my compound but all efforts proved  abortive.”   

Egbunihe, in tears, said that he even offered to pay for the 8 feet land space that ought to be his own and even rebuild Idowu’s fence but to no avail.                                                                             He noted that besides ignoring the directives from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development ordering him to demolish the fence  blocking him, Idowu has also shunned  similar directives by the Citizens Mediation Center in Alimosho  Local Government Area, as well as instructions by the Oba of  Igando. 
                         

Responding, Idowu had told Journalists that Egbunine’s claims were false and ridiculous, challenging him to go to Court.                                                                                                     

 However, he did not deny the fact that the Ministry had marked his fence for demolition.