Man cries out over threat to life, family members by land grabber

A 50-year-old man, Shofela Olanrewaju Dauda, has raised alarm over alleged threats to his life by suspected land grabbers on a piece of land located in Oluga Village, Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State.

Shofela, a business vendor said he legally acquired the land in 2018 for N3 million, following due documentation, with plans to develop it into a serviced apartment complex for income generation.

Speaking with journalists, he alleged that a powerful family (name withheld) forcibly took over the land and issued him an ultimatum to either vacate the property or pay N200 million to retain ownership.

Despite presenting legal documents to back his claim, Shofela said his refusal to comply with their demands resulted in repeated threats of life and intimidation.

Shofela added he relocated his family from his residence with the hope of escaping the threat and fearful but ended up being endangered in the long run.

He is calling on relevant authorities and security agencies to intervene and ensure justice is served before the situation escalates furthermore but all his effort is fail due to the family of the land is having prominent government politically and government connection backup, His legal teams do all their best but justice delays and court adjourned for decades years..

“When I refused to comply and presented my legal documents to support my ownership, the family resorted to threats of life, intimidation, and such dangerous of violence to force me to abandon the land. My refusal to give in to their demands triggered a chain of events that would not only jeopardize my livelihood but also put my family’s safety and my life at risk.

“Initially, the threats were verbal. Some different gangs Notorious group assigned to kill me and other relatives, Strangers began showing up near my resident, warning me to “leave the land before it’s too late.” Threats of different voice notes from unknowns calls and voice notes messaging too, As time passed, the intimidation escalated. Thugs began vandalizing my property and issuing threats against my family. I reported these incidents to the local police and even submitted written complaints to the Zone 2 AIG Command. However, no action was taken, as the perpetrators were protected by their political connections.

“In October 2022, the threats became physical. As I left my Business place one evening, I was ambushed by armed men who beat me severely and warned that my refusal to give up the land would lead to devastating consequences. The attack left me hospitalized for several days, and despite filing a police report, no arrests were made.

“The violence took a terrifying turn on the November, 2022, when the attackers targeted my family directly. At approximately 11:4 am., while I was at my business and my daughters were at school, a group of notorious men came to my home. They confronted my wife, demanding to know my whereabouts. When she refused to cooperate, they brutally attacked her using machetes and broken bottles, leaving her severely injured.

“My wife suffered deep cuts to her face, requiring emergency surgery. She now bears permanent scars, both physical and emotional. The attack left my entire family traumatized. My wife began experiencing nightmares and panic attacks, while my daughters became withdrawn and fearful, asking repeatedly if the men would come back or not.

“Realizing that my family was no longer safe, I made the difficult decision to move them some village town Northern and Eastern city but with all this still the same unsafe to them, I hoped this would keep them out of harm’s way, but the threats continued different gangs angle. In January 2023, my car was set on fire outside after I bought petrol station and I have to run for my life. A chilling note was left behind: “Your family isn’t far enough. Leave the land, or they will pay the price, apart family people I bought the land from still threat my life, if I forgot the land I will still pay the deadly penalty so that I should start running around whole Nigeria and other Sahara African countries that takeaway my life their aims and objection they don’t when to seeing my exit life in Nigeria or other place that I whole them (Dead penalty)”.