FHA Forceful Eviction, Heavy Gunfire Scares Residents Of FHE As Millons of Properties Lost

FHA Forceful Eviction, Heavy Gunfire Scares Residents Of FHE As Millons of Properties Lost

Residents of the Federal Housing Estate in Obada-Oko, located in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State, were thrown into deep chock as operative of the Nigeria police led by the General Manager, Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Mr. Olaniyi and the Desk officer of the Estate at FHA, Alhaja Basirat Salami Olayinka, invaded the community and forcefully evicting the occupants of the estate.

The incident reportedly occurred on Friday and Saturday when heavily armed policemen, said to be masked, stormed the estate in large numbers. Witnesses alleged that the officers fired sporadically before proceeding with the eviction of residents from over 300 houses, leaving properties abandoned and unsecured in the rain.

Speaking with journalists, a retired federal civil servant from the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and community leader, Comrade Olujide Ogunsola, condemned the action, insisting that due legal process must be followed in any eviction exercise.

He emphasized that a valid court order, alongside the presence of a bailiff and other court officials, is required before such an operation can be lawfully carried out. According to him, the matter is still pending before the Federal High Court in Abeokuta.

Ogunsola explained that the estate had been occupied by residents since 2008, noting that the buildings were initially abandoned and in a state of disrepair. He stated that the late traditional ruler of Obada-Oko had earlier written to the Federal Government, highlighting how the neglected estate had become a save haven for criminal activities.

To prevent further deterioration, the monarch reportedly encouraged civil servants, including medical doctors, military personnel, security agents and bankers, to occupy and rehabilitate the houses, with the understanding that proper arrangements would be made with the government in the future.

He added that discussions with officials of the Federal Housing Authority gave residents confidence to invest in renovating the structures, with assurances of possible “first refusal” rights should the government decide to formalize ownership.

However, the situation reportedly took a turn in 2014 when an agent, identified as Olajide Joshua, Managing Director of Fin-Builders, allegedly approached the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) with a proposal to take over the estate. A committee, which included Ogunsola, was subsequently set up to engage with the FHA and handle related disputes.

The community leader further alleged that as far back as 2010, the FHA had allocated the estate to two firms, including a United Kingdom-based company and Gidiom Title, despite the fact that the estate was already occupied. He noted that a court ruling in 2012 directed all parties to agree on a pricing arrangement.

Residents were later advised to process mortgage payments, which they claim to have been paying over time. However, Ogunsola alleged that officials later denied receiving such payments, raising concerns about possible irregularities.

He also accused the desk officer, Mrs. Basirat Salami and others of allegedly collecting money from prospective occupants, including Nigerians in the diaspora, without proper remittance to government accounts.

Ogunsola called on the Federal Government to urgently intervene as well as set up an investigation team to look into Double allocation and outright sales of the estate to a private entity, stressing that fairness, justice and protection of the rights of law-abiding residents must be ensure.

He added that the Ogun State Commissioner of police was fully aware and advice them to contact their lawyer for further action.

The affected residents are urging relevant authorities such as EFCC and ICPC to investigate the incident, clarify ownership of the estate and prevent further displacement of families pending the outcome of ongoing legal proceedings.

In his response, the General Manager, FHA said the houses has been sold as far back as 2019 and 2020, saying that the genuine allottee are now ready to take possession of their houses.

He said that the retired and serving civil servants among others currently occupying the houses are illegal occupants, hence the eviction needed to be enforced, claiming that FHA is not capture under the Federal Government budget as the agency got a loan of N2.6 Billion naira to develop the estate, Olaniyi said the federal high court ruled in their favour for their eviction.

"None of the present occupants of the estate have the local standing for not leaving except they can present the allocation letter from FHA". Olaniyi said.

He said almost 100 people who are genuine occupants and have fully paid are threatening the FHA with court cases for refusing to handover their houses.

Reacting, the Police Public Relations Officer(PPRO), Ogun State Command, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi refuted claims that its personnel invaded the Federal Housing Estate, Obada-Oko, or evicted residents. Babaseyi noted that Police Officers were deployed solely to provide security during the lawful enforcement of a court order by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Abuja. He stated that Police neither carried out the eviction nor acted beyond their constitutional mandate of maintaining law and order.