Despite the numerous alarms raised over the years about the activities of Land grabbers/Omonile in Lagos and their many tricks, a lot of investors still fall prey to them. These sets of hoodlums are always in the habit of causing conflict and confusion among investors by selling the same plot of land to multiple investors with different illegal papers. Today, the Omoniles have upped their games into selling government lands by erecting signposts bearing the Lagos state logo and excision application file number in a bid to deceive unsuspecting investors into thinking that the lands are genuine with government backing.

According to the Lagos state Lands Bureau, some of the communities where the Omonile Land Grabbing Syndrome is becoming more prominent are: Okenla village, Idake village, Ajao Oki village, Ladegbole village, Imedu village, Iratirin village, Shekina Alo village, Obadimisi village, Fowoseje village, and Iraboko village, all in Ibeju-Lekki area. Moreso, some communities in the Lekki area like the Adamatiye community, Ogunro community, and Sorogun community are also affected. We also have the Ogombo village in Eti-Osa, Oshiun village in Kosofe.

The Lagos state government has notified the public that it has not approved any village excision application since May 2015 and caution should be taken when buying any land in Lagos, especially the ones bearing the Lagos state signpost to avoid being scammed.

Consequently, it will be in your best interest as an investor or private developer to involve a registered land surveyor when buying any land in Lagos as they are in the best position to verify the status of any land and help you run checks on the documents that these land agents deceive people with.