A civil engineer, McDonald Ejiofor, has accused officials of the Federal Housing Authority, operatives attached to the Lagos State Task Force, and some suspected thugs of demolishing his property in the FESTAC area of the state.
Ejiofor said the incident happened on Saturday, October 11, 2025, at his residence on Plot 1892, Route 65, Caravan Estate, 6th Avenue, FESTAC Town.
Speaking to PUNCH Metro on Friday, he said the demolition team stormed the premises with bulldozers and began pulling down the structure while his family was still inside.
Describing the destruction as the loss of years of labour and dreams, he said the property was worth N500m.
He added that he legally acquired the land from the Kuje family in 2016 after a Federal High Court judgment reportedly granted ownership of the disputed area to the family.
He said, “Last Saturday morning, I went to play football. Around 8 a.m., I noticed about 23 missed calls from my neighbours. When I called back, they told me to rush home because the FHA officials were demolishing my building.
“Before I got there, they had already brought down the fence and cut the building in two. I started begging them to give me time. Even my wife was inside when they began the demolition. People were shouting that someone was inside, but they didn’t listen.
“My furniture, electronics, machines, documents, certificates, passport, and clothes were all buried under the debris.”
Ejiofor alleged that when he tried to salvage some of his belongings the following day, over 30 policemen in six Hilux vans stormed the site.
“They beat me, my wife, and my brother, threw us into a Black Maria, and took us to the Task Force cell in Oshodi. They later forced me to sign an undertaking not to return to the property,” he claimed.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Task Force, Raheem Gbadeyan, denied the allegation.
He said the operatives were invited to provide security backup for the officials of the FHA.
He said, “We don’t know about the demolition. We were only asked to provide backup for the FHA officials. On the arrest made, some people believed to be empathising with the owner of the property were hurling stones at our officials. That was what led to the arrest, and the moment we took them to our office, they were released immediately.”
When also contacted, the Head of Public Relations, Federal Housing Authority, Kenneth Chigelu, dismissed the allegations made by Ejiofor.
He said the entire FESTAC Town is under the control of the FHA, and individuals cannot claim ownership of any portion of land within the estate through private family transactions.
He said, “He cannot get land from the Kuje family; that place belongs to the Federal Government through the Federal Housing Authority. He went and bought land and built on the road; that’s the problem. Who gave him approval to build? He should show you his documents, his approved unit plan. Even if he claims to have bought the land, both the FHA and the Lagos State building authorities must give him approval before any structure can stand. FESTAC is controlled by the FHA. When we carried out the demolition, why didn’t the family he claimed sold the land come out to defend him?”
PUNCH.
