Landlord Breaks Female Tenant’s Hand Over N3,000

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

It has not really been easy for both landlords and tenants in Lagos over house rents following what happened recently in Lagos.

A landlord, Baba Olukoya was arrested by the police for attacking his female tenant, Glory over her inability to raise N3,000 to pay rent to him as he was equally broke and needed money to eat.
The incident happened at Chris Idowu Street in Ejigbo, Lagos where they reside.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that Olukoya had collected rent which had not expired before he became broke and needed money to buy food and drinks.
Baba Olukoya turned violent on Glory when he demanded for the money on the condition that she will deduct it when she will renew her rent.

But Glory disappointed Olukoya and told him that she was equally looking for money to eat and her rent had not expired. In anger Olukoya carried a small iron rod and hit Glory’s hand and it got swollen and she was rushed to hospital.

The matter was reported to the police at Ejigbo Division and Olukoya was arrested and taken to the station.
At the police station, the landlord pleaded with the police that he did not attack the woman with normal eyes as he was hungry and needed money to eat.
He offered to treat the woman which will be deducted from the house rent and promised to maintain peace with his tenants.
The police then released him on administrative bail and asked them to come back after treatment to known the outcome of the treatment and settlement.

It was not Olukoya and Glory alone that were having issues over rent in the state, many tenants whose rents had expired complained they could not afford to renew it because of hardship. The landlords as well were not finding easy to get their rents from tenants.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that many tenants have abandoned their former apartments to smaller ones due to hard economic situation, while some landlords had to partition their flats to smaller apartments to enable them to rent out the abandoned flats. It was gathered that the rent payment were not coming easily to landlords even at that.

Some of the tenants who spoke to our reporter said the rent problem were not their making because they were paying before things turned bad.