By [Brain Magazine Investigations teams]
"Officers have no business escorting parties for land recovery…" — IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D, NPM
A Widow’s Tears in Lagos
The sun had barely risen when they came — a convoy of buses, men armed with machetes and charms, chanting war songs. Behind them, two police vans. They stormed Mama Ngozi’s site in Ikorodu, Lagos. She had been saving for 15 years to complete her two-bedroom house. By noon, her dream lay in rubble.
“They told me the land belongs to their family. They showed me one old paper,” she said, wiping tears. “The police told me to vacate or be arrested. I showed them my receipts. They laughed.”
Her case is not isolated. From Lagos to Abuja, from Port Harcourt to Ogun, countless families have similar scars.
As the Igbo say: “A na-agba mbo mmiri gbaa ọka, ọ ga-ekpuchi mkpọrọgwụ ya” — “When water is poured at the base of a corn stalk, it covers the root.” In Nigeria, the flood of land grabbers is washing away the roots of ordinary people’s lives.
The Omo-Onile Plague
In Lagos, land grabbing has a local name: omo-onile — literally, “children of the land.” These self-styled “landlords” claim ancestral rights to entire neighborhoods.
- A man buys land, clears it, and starts to build.
- The omo-onile arrive, demanding “foundation money.”
- When roofing begins, they demand “roofing money.”
- At each stage, there’s a fee. If the man resists, thugs appear.
- Even completed houses are not safe. Families wake up to see strange markings on their walls — “X” for demolition. Soon after, bulldozers roll in.
In 2021, the Lagos State government passed the Prohibition of Forceful Entry and Illegal Occupation of Landed Properties Law, prescribing 21 years imprisonment for land grabbers. Yet, omo-onile business is booming. Why? Because enforcement is weak, and some officers — meant to enforce the law — are complicit.
Abuja: The Estate Wars
In the Federal Capital Territory, the battleground is different. Here, it is not villages but estates. Families invest in housing schemes only to find their homes demolished overnight.
One such case happened in Lugbe, Abuja, where dozens of houses were pulled down despite residents holding allocation letters. A resident cried: “How can government allocate land to us, collect our money, then come years later to say it belongs to another family? Who is fooling who?”
The Hausa adage captures it well: “Ba a raba wa kare nama sai an ba shi ƙashi” — “When you divide meat for a dog, at least give him the bone.” But in Abuja, many citizens are left with neither meat nor bone, only dust and despair.
Ogun: The Family Judgments
Ogun State has seen some of the bloodiest land disputes. Families claim court judgments from the 1970s and 1980s — judgments that covered specific plots but are now stretched to cover entire towns.
Armed with such papers, they invade communities, evict residents, and resell the land. Sometimes, communities resist. Clashes follow. Lives are lost.
The Bible warns in Micah 2:2: “They covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.” These words read like a headline from today’s Nigeria.
The Police Dilemma
The Inspector-General’s words were clear: police must not escort land grabbers. But reality on the ground is messier. Families see policemen standing guard while their walls are pulled down. Officers claim they are “maintaining peace.” Victims insist they are “aiding criminals.”
An old Yoruba saying cuts deep: “Bí òjò ò bá rọ̀, adìẹ ò lè mọ́ ẹni tó fi omi ṣeré” — “If the rain doesn’t fall, the chicken won’t know who sprinkled it with water.” Nigerians are beginning to ask: is it the hoodlums or the police making their lives wet with tears?
SIDEBAR: THE COST OF LAND GRABBING
- Average Lagos family loses ₦3–5 million to land disputes.
- Over 60% of court cases in Lagos involve land.
- In Ogun, more than 200 communities are in active dispute with “ancestral owners.”
- Police records (2022): Over 1,000 arrests linked to land grabbing, but only 5% convictions.
What Must Change
- Police Neutrality: No more hired escorts in land matters.
- Transparent Land Registry: Digitize all land records — no more “missing files.”
- Community Taskforces: Engage traditional rulers, community leaders, and security to settle disputes early.
- Swift Justice: Courts must stop giving blanket judgments that become weapons.
- Punishment for Officers: Any policeman caught backing grabbers must be tried publicly.
Conclusion
Land is not just earth. It is blood, sweat, and heritage. A man without land is like a tree without roots.
The Inspector-General has spoken. But as another Yoruba proverb warns: “Ọ̀rọ̀ ṣoṣo kì í dá’ni l’ẹ́bi, ìṣe ló ń dá’ni l’ẹ́bi” — “Words alone don’t condemn a man, actions do.”
Until the state rises with action, Nigerians will keep asking the same haunting question:
👉 Is the state real — or just a statement?
