Militants’ attacks: Lagos residents put up houses, lands for sale

…hospitals, hotels shut

.Navy storms creeks
.Panic uncalled for –PPRO

Gbenro Adeoye, Fisayo Falodi, Kunle Falayi, Tunde Ajaja, and Eric Dumo

BY  PUNCH NEWS PAPERS

Some residents of riverside communities
in Lagos State are selling off their lands and houses in fear following
attacks by suspected Niger Delta militants in the areas, Saturday PUNCH has learnt.

In the first week following the last
attack by militants in Igbo-Olomu and Isawo areas of Ikorodu, residents
fled hurriedly to avoid being killed.

But during a visit to the communities,
our correspondents learnt that the residents had gone beyond fleeing the
troubled communities to selling their houses, lands and other
properties in panic.

The panic sale was confirmed by the head of the Olomu family, the main landowner in Igbo Olomu.

A real estate agent, Ojo Alaso, told one
of our correspondents that he had been approached by at least three
people, whom he had helped to buy lands in the areas.

Alaso said, “I cannot blame them, all the things happening here are enough to scare anyone.

“Honestly, I know this problem will be
addressed one day, but people have become so scared of the attacks that
they are having a rethink about living here.

“One of the men who told me to help
resell his land already planned that by the end of this year, he might
start the construction works. But he called me early in the week to
inform me that he was no longer interested in the building plan.

“They are even willing to sell the lands below the market value.”

In Igbo-Olomu, a plot of land close to
the major road is sold for between N3m and N4m, while in Isawo, it goes
for up to N5.5m, one real estate agent, David Ashana, told Saturday PUNCH.

“But as you go inwards, the cost can be as low as N400, 000 and as high as N1.5m,” Ashana, said.

The agent explained that a woman who
bought a land in the area for N900, 000 about seven months ago had now
put it up for sale for N500, 000.

“If you have N400, 000 you can buy it from her, you only need to pay my commission,” he added.

When our correspondents visited the
office of the Olomu family, a man who was later identified as the Olori
Ebi (family head), explained that he had been receiving reports about
people putting their houses up for sale.

He said, “People don’t feel safe because
of the insecurity caused by militants. This is a serious issue; the
policemen deployed here do not patrol the inner areas of the community.

“So, people may be raped and killed in
the interior parts of our community and the policemen will not do
anything. This is why people are selling their properties. The police
presence here is not effective.”

He directed one of our correspondents to
a street where an agent announced on a signpost that a house was
available for sale in the community.

When one of correspondents called the
agent over the phone, he said he was out of town but gave a description
of the location of the three-bedroomed house previously occupied by the
owner until he fled the area about a month ago.

“The man who owns the house decided to sell it two weeks ago and N2.5m is the asking price,” he said.

The cost of land alone in that same location is between N1.2m and N1.5m.

An estate agent, Mr. Victor Oluyi, who
said his company had dealt with a number of clients in that part of
Ikorodu, Lagos, explained that normally, a finished three-bedroomed
house is worth over N4m in the area.

A community leader and rights activist
in the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid being killed
by militants, told Saturday PUNCH that a man simply identified
as Aroso Alajo (a popular thrift collector) wanted to sell his
three-bedroomed house. The asking price for the house, according to him,
is N2.5m.

He said another resident he identified as Pastor Ogunsanwo had also put his house up for sale.

The rights activist said, “My opinions
were published in the newspapers after the attacks in the community. The
militants said if I did not keep my mouth shut, I would die.

“We were there when the militants first
killed nine people in our area. Right now, no fewer than 40 residents
have been killed in the community. They even beheaded some of the
victims and took their heads away. So, people selling their lands and
houses are not overreacting at all.”

One of our correspondents, who visited
the Aroso Alajo’s house, noticed that no single person was in sight in
the whole area. It was learnt that none of the residents had returned to
the area.

A commercial motorcyclist said it was too risky to visit the house put up for sale by Pastor Ogunsanwo earlier identified.

He said the area was too deserted but
took one of our correspondents to another house, a storey building with a
servants’ quarters with at least half a plot extra land. It was put up
for sale for N5m by the owner.

At Totowu, a community in Igando area of
Lagos, that had initially been attacked by militants few weeks ago,
residents are also disposing of their homes in fear.

Findings by Saturday PUNCH
showed that a good number of landlords had already put their houses up
for sale fearing that the militants might strike again anytime.

“They promised to ‘clear’ our community,
so what is the use of staying here, when none of the security agencies
has visited this place since the last attack. Since the militants
promised to come back, I’m sure they will have a field day, so it’s best
to run away before they come,” a landlord told Saturday PUNCH.

Meanwhile, all the houses on offer for sale are at prices far below their market value.

“It is so bad that most of us just want
to sell before we are killed by those boys, because it doesn’t even seem
this place will be safe in the nearest future, the landlord, who
identified himself as Jonathan, said.

Jonathan said he had already succeeded
in selling his property, a three-bedroomed flat for N2m. He said it was a
better option for him as he didn’t know what would become of the area
in years to come, more so that the militants could make good their
threat.

Jonathan said, “If they succeed with that threat, we would be killed while the houses would be gone as well.”

Although a plot of land in the area costs around N1m, Jonathan explained that he spent N4m to complete the house.

Though there are no “To Let” boards on
the properties, our correspondents learnt from reliable sources within
the estate that many properties were already put up for sale and the
owners were ready to sell them at any reasonable price.

On one of the streets is an uncompleted
four-bedroomed flat. The construction has reached lintel level but the
owner has already sold it for a meagre N600, 000.

A resident confided in two of our
correspondents that the owner of the building sold it to raise money to
relocate. One of the landlords said, “I can confirm to you that some of
us are offering our properties for sale. Two people have sold their own
already. Somebody sold a bungalow for N2m. And another person sold his
four-bedroomed flat to avoid staying there and be killed by militants.

“There are many houses for sale now and
they are very cheap. All of them are on a dry land. If you want to buy a
house, whether completed or uncompleted, just come. You will get many
of them because many people want to sell.

“Since that incident, some people have
not come back because there is this fear that the militants could come
back. Some even told us to help them look for buyers. There is no police
presence since then. They have not deployed their men. In fact, we are
living under the mercy of God here.

In same vein, Iyewo Estate in Akesan,
Igando area of Lagos is another community that had come under attack by
the militants earlier in the month.

As a result of the attack, some
residents had fled the community, while some others, who seem to have
lost hope in the security of the place, have put up their houses for
sale.

At least two landlords on Samuel
Olaoluwa Street are said to be looking for buyers for their houses.
Meanwhile, a source close to the landlords said they seemed ready to
accept any reasonable offer just to hurriedly flee the area.

Commenting on the development and its
impact on property values, an estate surveyor and valuer, Mr. Dipo
Fakorede, said, “Of course, it will have effect on property values,
because when everybody is leaving a particular location, it means the
area is not safe and when there are no demand for properties,
automatically the prices will crash. Definitely the prices, both rental
and sale, will crash.

“Meanwhile, some speculators will take
advantage of the situation. When people are abandoning their properties
and selling at ridiculous prices, people who have the cash would
definitely buy, although for future advantage. This is because by the
time the insecurity there is addressed, the values will keep rising and
people who have taken advantage of that would be laughing to the bank.

“On whether it is a good idea to buy
such a property, some people might think you are taking advantage of the
victims, but there is nothing wrong for any investor who wants to buy
such a property inasmuch as they are not going to the bank to borrow the
money.”

However, the police in Lagos said the
panic in the areas previously attacked were unjustified, promising that
they are on top of the situation.

“People don’t have to move out of the
areas, the Lagos State Police Command is on top of the situation,”
spokesperson for the police in Lagos, Dolapo Badmos told Saturday PUNCH.

On Thursday, news filtered in that the
military in company with other security agencies were conducting
operations in Ikorodu, Lagos. The operation was also extended to Arepo
and Ibafo areas of Ogun State where the military bombed some militants’
hideouts.

Source: Punch Newspapers