The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), on Friday, vowed to demolish shanties and illegal structures at Ogombo area in Eti-Osa Local Government Area.

Gbolahan Oki, general manager, LASBCA, said this in an interview with journalists in Lagos.

Mr Oki said the land sold by land grabbers, popularly called ‘omo oniles,’ to unsuspecting buyers belonged to the state government.

He explained that the state government had issued several notices of demolition to the illegal occupants of the area for over five years.

According to him, about 80 to 90 per cent of the buildings are shanties, with few illegal structures that have no building plan approval or documents from the government and no layout for the area.

“We will soon embark on removal of all the structures on the site because the government must perform its duties.

“The state government has promised to deliver housing for residents of the state and this is where we are starting from,” he said.

The general manager said he was worried about the challenges the government was facing with the land grabbers who illegally sold government land to unsuspecting buyers.

He also decried the unprofessional activities of some real estate agents and lawyers who buy and sell unverified property.

“Apart from the land grabbers that are our core problem, the lawyers and estate agents need to be accountable.

“The law says that the agents are responsible for property search, so buyers meet them to help them get land when needed.

“Before the buyers pay for the property, they also meet a lawyer for verification and legal agreements.

“We expect both the estate agents and the lawyers to carry out due diligence on behalf of the prospective buyers, before allowing them to make financial commitment.

“The Lagos state government has one of the best land registry archives that has record and documents of property bought even in the last 20 to 30 years, those owned by the government or already given a Certificate of Occupancy (C/o),” he said.

Mr Oki charged estate agents, lawyers and prospective property buyers to verify the status of any property they wish to possess from the Lagos State Land Bureau before paying.

According to him, LASBCA will not take exception to anybody occupying an illegal site and will ensure that the issue of illegal property possession is stopped.

The general manager said: “henceforth, any property built without building plan approval or C/O will be demolished; I am going to enforce it, let it be 74-storey building, we will pull it down.

(NAN)