An ex-serviceman, Yussuf Fasanya, whose house was demolished to pave the way for an agricultural processing hub belonging to Lagos State, has cried out for help.
Fasanya is seeking compensation from the state for the demolition that has left him homeless, desolate and in pain.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the demolition of the 12 rooms and shops belonging to Pa Fasanya on May 2, 2023, was carried out by RHEMA Project BCEGI Company on behalf of the Lagos State Government.
According to Pa Fasanya, some people from the Oba’s Palace approached him with N1m, asking him to move out of his property, but he refused to collect the money.
They, however, came days later with police officers, arrested and took him to the station where he said they wrote a statement and asked him to sign it.
The aggrieved octogenarian who spoke to our correspondent on Monday further said days after his release, BCEGI came with bulldozers and demolished his building with his properties and those of his tenants in it and since then he has not heard anything from the government or the Ministry of Agriculture.
He said, “I bought the land in 1976, while I was working with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. I still have the documents of my land.
“These people just demolished my property, there was no quit notice, no letter, nothing.
‘Weeks to the demolition, some people just came to me that the manager of the company said they should give me N1 million to park out of the building, but I refused.
“After I refused, they left, three days later, they came to arrest me, took me to the Ketu Police Station and asked me to sign a statement they wrote.
“Three days after that day, they came back with a bulldozer and started demolishing from the backyard. It was God that saved me and some of my tenants, one was even a pregnant woman who was still sleeping.
“People gathered and were asking what the problem was; the officers used tear gas to scare them away. They made sure they broke into my house and damaged all my properties inside the building.
“Since that time, I have not heard anything from the company or Lagos State. They have fenced the property and heaped sand at the entrance.
The pensioner said he almost committed suicide but for the intervention of his son due to the devastation of losing his only hope of enjoying his last days on earth.
“I couldn’t contain the pain, I attempted to commit suicide but for one of my sons who rushed in at the right time. That building was the only thing I had worked for all through my years in the ministry. Twelve rooms, shops and a boys’ quarter that were rented.
“I have been suffering, going in and out of hospitals, squatting with my relatives and depending on them, when I would have been comfortably taking care of myself.
“I am begging Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to help me, let them compensate me, at least a place where I can call my own.”
Our correspondent however, sighted two letters sent to the Lagos State government and the Ministry of Agriculture by a lawyer, Kayode Oshiyemi, dated October 9, 2023, requesting the state to compensate Pa Fasanya.
However, when our correspondent contacted the Public Relations officer of the Commissioner for Agriculture, Lagos State, Nike Shodipe, she earlier said she was not aware of the case, and requested a meeting with our correspondent which did not hold. After a second call, she requested to see the letter sent to her ministry.
“Let me have the copy sent to my ministry.”
After the letter was sent, she responded stating that Pa Fasanya was an illegal person on that property and has no right to be compensated. She added that the families who own the land had been paid.
“The man has absolutely no right there; the land belongs to some families and the government has paid the landowning families.
“He was given two months’ notice to vacate the land and get somewhere else. He was given some money before now.”
She however said the state government had been thinking about giving him some money on compassionate grounds.
The lawyer and Pa Fasanya were contacted and they denied that the land was illegally acquired but belonged to Pa Fasanya.
The lawyer claimed that his client had the right to be there because he lawfully purchased the property.
“Maybe, someone has misrepresented facts to them. My client bought that property legally and there was no notice given to my client. I am stating this emphatically without any fear of contradiction from any quarters and no dime was paid to my client.
RHEMA project BCEGI was also contacted, but there was no response from the number from the company’s X handle with the name Emeka Mordi.
However, a post by the company on March 6, 2023, showed that they were working with Lagos State to construct a food hub.
The post read, “The Lagos State Food Security Systems and Central Logistics Hub being constructed by RHEMA Project BCEGI is projected to be the largest food logistics hub in West Africa. It will serve as a central food storage and processing hub serving the people of LASG and beyond
