11/02/2021
*OMO-ONILE AND LAND GRABBING SAGA*
The term omo-onile means the traditional land owners. Is an individual or group of persons indigene of any specific settlement who inherited land either from their father or relation. He or she may decide to sell, lease or transfer the rights and ownership of the portion of the family land appropriated to him or her.
Land grabbing is the contentious issue of large-scale land acquisitions: the buying or leasing of large pieces of land by domestic and transnational companies, governments, and individuals.
Part of the crisis threatening peace in some part of Nigeria, is the struggle over land and natural resources. This crisis is rooted in a series of structural, historical, and socioeconomic factors. It is also driven by increasing urbanization, demographic pressure, inadequate property rights, conflicting land tenure systems and land-grabbing.
Land grabbers claims to being the indigenous residents of communities in Lagos are not an entirely recent phenomenon. However, they have become more pronounced with the rapid expansion of the Lagos metropolis. Some claim the right to sell and collect payment, compensation, rents, and taxes from those they consider tenants, non-indigenes, or settlers.
They operate using force, deception, and intimidation to gain access and control. In this way, they are key actors in exacerbating tensions, including conflicts between landowners, buyers, and private investors.
Common practices of the Omo Onile or land grabber include selling the same parcel of land to multiple buyers and encroaching on land acquired legitimately by others. In other cases, they make it difficult for land buyers to take possession of their property after purchase by demanding illegal payments and threatening or attacking construction workers at building sites. These illegal activities increasingly pose a problem to urban development, peace and security, and sometimes lead to heavy losses by local and foreign private investors.
In a bid to curb the unscrupulous activities of the land grabbers in the State, the Lagos State government enacted a law to prohibit forceful entry and illegal occupation of landed properties, as well as violent and fraudulent conducts in relation to landed properties in the State.
Lagos receives 1000 land grabbing petitions in one year. According to a publication released by Lagos state ministry of justice in June 3, 2020.
The law seeks to protect the proprietary rights of land and property owners in Lagos State and also criminalizes actions of forceful and unlawful entry or occupation of premises.
the Lagos State Government enacted the Lagos State Property Protection Law on August 15, 2016, which prohibited the forceful entry and illegal occupation of landed property, and violent and fraudulent conduct in relation to landed properties in the state. The law prescribes severe penalties with various prison terms for different offenses.
In order to facilitate the implementation of the law, a Special Task Force Unit was created on June 27, 2016. Known as the Lagos State Special Task Force on Land Grabbers, its mandate includes curbing the activities of land grabbers, coordinating the efforts of various government agencies charged with enforcing the property protection law, and cooperating with security agencies in enforcing the law.
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