…As some residents flee estate
Following the arrest of kidnap kingpin, Chukwudi Dumeme Onuamakadike, a.k.a. Evans at his Magodo GRA Phase II residence penultimate Saturday, some prominent persons owning one or two landed property within the enclave have put them up for sale.
As at the last count, no fewer than 30 of such houses have displayed the notice with the inscription, “For sale.”
Curiously, almost on all the streets within Magodo GRA Phase II, one or two houses are now noticed to display the “For sale” cards.
Our correspondent gathered that in the past two weeks many residents of the highbrow estate have fled over fears of becoming victims of kidnapping, while ”others simply relocated for fear of being embarrassed, as vetting of residents is now in vogue.”
In-depth investigations by our correspondent revealed that aside from the fact that majority of the house owners panicked and scampered to safety, following the arrest of the kidnap kingpin and the fallout of police investigations, landlords in the area have embarked on what insiders call “Operation Know-Your-Neighbour” as a sure way of saving the faces of genuine property owners.
“Things are no longer the same since the story broke out barely two weeks ago. It was the least thing expected to happen within our neighbourhood, judging from the calibre of people living here. What we are doing here now is for the tenants, domestic servants, workers and other residents to register with the appropriate authority as a way of knowing what individuals are doing for a living. It is a sort of vetting”, a source said.
Further checks revealed that over 20 tastefully furnished houses within the estate had been without tenants, while 15 others appeared to have been abandoned outright.
It was also observed that nobody seemed to care about the owners of these houses, but crime analysts said that such abandoned properties could be come a hideout for nocturnal criminal activities.
“The police, in collaboration with some government officials at the Lands and Housing Ministry, Alausa, would soon carry out a verification exercise of all the identifiable properties in Magodo. It is a way of stemming the tide of criminality in the area, especially kidnapping for ransom, which is now in vogue,” a security source said.
Speculations have also become rife that the Lagos State Government may revoke the Certificates of Occupancy of the houses with questionable ownership.
Magodo Estate was established in 1984 by the military administration of Governor Mudashiru Lawal, which reportedly approached the original settlers and informed them of government’s intention to make use of the expanse of land housing the estate.
“The initial occupiers were told that the government wanted to build a hospital meant to cater for Lagosians”, said an independent source.
But over time, the original plan was altered as wealthy individuals, including government functionaries and captains of industry, ‘cornered’ the estate and shared it among themselves.
Consequently, all the structures met on the land by the wealthy Nigerians were pulled down to give way to modern and highbrow mansions. The only thing left behind is the original name ‘Magun-Odo,’ meaning I will pound mortar, which was soon corrupted and changed to ‘Magodo.’
The Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, Olarinde FamousCole, told our correspondent that the story of the arrested kidnap kingpin, Evans, was a running one, adding that he would be arraigned in court at the appropriate time.
“Investigation is on-going. I think the police high command will do the appropriate thing at the end of investigations,” he said.
