A Lagos landlord, Sunday Shotanwa is seeking police protectiont in his attempt to eject tenants in his house who have refused to pay for rent in the past five tears and are even threatening his life.
Consequently, the Commissioner of Police in charge of the State has ordered a thorough investigation into the matter.
This came even as the Lagos State Citizens Mediation Centre has commenced moves to help the landlord to eject the errant tenants living in the property located in 21, Ifeloju Street, Oko-Oba, Agege.
The moves by the two bodies followed a petition written by the Save Lagos Group (SLG) to the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and the commissioner of police in charge of the state on the need to save the life of Shotanwa from his tenants who have vowed to kill him for demanding payment of their house rents.
Save Lagos Group had initially written the petition dated Monday 3rd of July, 2017 to the police IGP alerting him to the latent danger to Shotanwa’s life who has had to endure the refusal of his tenants to pay his house rent for over 5 years.
The Convener of the Save Lagos Group, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman wrote the petition on behalf of the group, after Shotonwa had initially contacted a lawyer to help him reclaim his property from the tenants but with no visible success.
“We got a reply from Abattoir Police Station located at Idi-Oparun Bus stop Oko-Oba in Agege on Friday 4th of August 2017 from someone who identified himself as the station officer urging us to provide the complainant to formally write a statement on the incidence to them but could not go as the Citizens Mediation Centre has waded into the matter.”
According to Sulaiman, the centre wrote a letter of invitation signed by the Director, Mrs. O.A Odusanya dated 17th of July, 2017 to all the affected tenants and landlord to come for a meeting to discuss the development.
“All the affected people including the landlord attended the meeting on 23rd of July 2017 and that they (the tenants) were made to sign an agreement to the effect that they will vacate the building by the end of October after it was resolved that all the outstanding rents amounting to over 5 years would be waved by their landlord.”
He said that the recalcitrant tenants have not kept to the terms of the agreement as they have been fermenting trouble, a situation that have prompted Shotanwa to run away from his resident fearing for the safety of his life and those of his family members.
“We have it on good authority that the tenants are not willing to leave as they have agreed to do through their action which has tend to suggest otherwise. As we speak, Shotanwa is no longer in his resident as he has been squatting in a friend’s house with the attendant issues of space and convenience to him and his family in their current abode.
“The Save Lagos Group is therefore calling on the Citizens Mediation Centre to conclude the processes of evicting the tenants from the premises since they have commenced the moves with a view to saving the lives of the landlord and that of his family members, which are currently in danger in accordance with the Lagos Tenancy Law 2011.”[myad]
