Residents of the Ilaje Otumara Community, which is part of the Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos State, have accused the Lagos State Building Control Agency of demolishing their ancestral homes without notice.

The agency, however, dismissed the allegation as “unfair.”

Speaking on behalf of the residents on Wednesday, the President-General of Egbe Omo Ilaje Worldwide, Iwamitigha Irowainu, condemned the demolitions, stating that they had left many families homeless.

Describing the demolition as “satanic, inhumane, and illegal,” Irowainu revealed that “over 5,000 houses with an estimated population of about 500,000 people” were affected.

According to him, the demolition has devastated the life investments of property owners in the community.

“The President-General and his entourage were held hostage for about three hours before they were rescued by the police. The hoodlums also attacked the invited journalists and chased away the victims of the illegal demolition,” Irowainu recounted.

Irowainu further alleged that “the illegal demolition began on February 11, 2025, when the Lagos State Building Control Agency boss arrived in Otumara Community with armed policemen and some area boys, ordering residents to vacate within three days without prior notice.”

In response to this eviction threat, he noted that “a large number of community members staged a protest at the Governor’s Office in Alausa on February 12, 2025. Through his representative, the governor denied knowledge of any planned demolition in Otumara Community and assured the residents to go about their lawful activities.”

Irowainu has now called on Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to “create an internally displaced persons camp with adequate relief materials to alleviate the suffering of the victims of this illegal demolition.”

Speaking with TheNigerian Metro in a telephone interview on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Adu Ademuyiwa, dismissed the residents’ accusations as unfair, stating that the agency had engaged them in multiple discussions regarding their alleged illegal occupation of the land.

“What they have said is not true. They were staying there illegally. We invited them and held several meetings with them,” Ademuyiwa said. “Ask any of them if they have any documents to prove ownership of the land. We had meetings with them not once, not twice,” he added.

He further said, “We gave them notice since last year and still held meetings with them this year. Even their Baale was present at one of the meetings. I was privy to part of the discussions. For them to claim otherwise, they are not being fair.”

Disputes between the state government and property owners are recurring in Lagos.

In July 2023, the state government carried out demolitions in Oworonshoki.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Gboyega Akosile, stated that the action was necessary to eliminate hoodlums using some of the structures as hideouts.

A Federal High Court in Lagos has adjourned the fraud and attempted murder case against the Chief Executive Officer of Oak Homes Limited, Olukayode Olusanya, to April 15, 2025.

Justice Musa Kakaki set the date after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence over the admissibility of the defendant’s statement and a petition against him.

Olusanya and his company face four counts brought by the police, including conspiracy, threat to life, obtaining money by false pretense, and stealing.

He was arraigned on November 26, 2024, but pleaded not guilty.

According to the police, Olusanya conspired with Lynda Umeh, the company’s head of sales and marketing, who is currently at large, to defraud a Nigerian-American engineer, Anthony Ugbebor.

The police said that between November 8, 2017, and August 4, 2020, both allegedly deceived Ugbebor into paying N152m, for two three-bedroom apartments at the Oak Residence, Victoria Island, with a promise to hand over possession by February 28, 2019.

However, they failed to deliver the property.

The police prosecution counsel, Supol M.A. Omo-Osagie, further alleged that Olusanya stole the funds and later conspired to murder Ugbebor for reporting him to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other authorities.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Omo-Osagie called the first prosecution witness, Assistant Superintendent of Police Egho Amiebelomo.

The officer testified that the police received a petition from Ugbebor, which led to an investigation.

Amiebelomo recounted how Olusanya initially refused to cooperate with police inquiries, claiming the Assistant Inspector General’s office was “too small” for him.

According to the witness, he was eventually arrested at his office and later released on bail. However, he absconded for months before being rearrested and brought to court.

The prosecution attempted to submit Olusanya’s statement and the complainant’s petition as evidence, but defence counsel, Agboola Adeleke (SAN), objected, arguing that the statement was not taken in the presence of a lawyer or video-recorded, as required under Section 9 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.

In response, Omo-Osagie countered that the defence’s objection was misplaced, citing Section 15(4) of the Act, which allows for statements to be recorded with or without video evidence.

He also argued that the petition was a public document and, therefore, admissible in court.

“Sections 100-104 of the Evidence Act 2011, particularly Section 103, stipulate that any document in the possession of a public officer is a public document,” Omo-Osagie stated.

“The petition originated from a private citizen but was officially received and acted upon by the AIG, with official stamps and directives. That makes it a public document, admissible under the law.

“The key question here is whether this document is relevant to the trial of the defendant. Since it is, we urge the court to dismiss the objections raised by the defence and admit the evidence,” he added.

After listening to both sides, Justice Kakaki adjourned the case to April 15, 2025, for ruling on the objections and continuation of trial.

Los Angeles police captain, Mike Lorenz, has disclosed that at least 20 people have been arrested for looting evacuated homes in Los Angeles, United States, including two people who posed as firefighters.

“Looting is an issue, the number of arrests is continuously growing. We even made arrests of two individuals that were actually posing as firefighters coming in and out of houses,” he said.

The arrests came as the death toll from California’s devastating wildfires rose to 16.

RELATED: Trump Slams California Officials As Wildfires Continue To Ravage Los Angeles

Among the casualties was a British former child star, Rory Callum Sykes, who appeared on the TV programme ‘Kiddie Kapers’ in the 1990s.

Sykes died of carbon monoxide poisoning at his family’s estate in Malibu on Wednesday, his mother said.

Shelley Sykes said she attempted to save her 32-year-old son, who was born with cerebral palsy, by putting out the flames on his cottage, before realising their water had been turned off.

She rushed off to seek help from the local fire department but returned to find the cottage had been destroyed.

“He said, ‘Mom leave me’ and no mom can leave their kid. And I’ve got a broken arm, I couldn’t lift him, I couldn’t move him,” Ms Sykes narrated.

The two largest wildfires blazing in Los Angeles, the Eaton and Palisades fires, had not been contained in the 24 hours leading to Sunday morning.

On Sunday morning, the Palisades fire, which has burned over 23,000 acres, was still 11 per cent contained which was the same as Saturday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).