Residents of Cowrie Creek Estate, Ikate, Lekki in Lagos State, are worried about increasing shanties springing up around the estate.
Cowrie Creek, a high-end estate, in Ikate, Lagos, was conceived in 2007 by Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) Cooperative Society as a private sector-led investment.
Residents are concerned about the upsurge of makeshift abodes built with plywood, wood and roofed with nylons and abandoned tyres defacing the surroundings.
Shanty inhabitants have become a source of security concerns in the vicinity.
The shantiess, at the back of Alia and Caterpillar, by Spar Shopping Mall, in Ikate, provide their own water, toilets, security, bathrooms, fast food joints, restaurants and pharmacy.
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But activities of inhabitants in the two shanties, which lack proper drainage facilities have continued to be a source of worry to estate residents.
It was learnt some residents pay N50 to use toilet facilities while others go to nearby bushes.
A source said occupants pay N7,000 monthly to rent makeshift houses built on water platforms; N20,000 to buy space for building the makeshift houses while purchase costs N70,000.
However, the source said the risk is on the buyer should the government demolish the structures.
An restate resident, Richard Dozie, said these dwelling sites has worsened security challenge around the estate.
“We have all manner of people around the shantytowns which have become breeding ground for robbers and thieves. We have had incidences of robbers scaling the fence of the estate and stealing from different houses. There was even one of the cases where thieves scaled the fence and made away with two generators. The thieves were seen from the estate closed-circuit television (CCTV) and when we approached, they ran away”.
Dozie also narrated another incident where two people were killed and their bodies dumped by the estate fence.
He said: “We feel it is safer for these ghettotos be cleared. People living in the estate do not feel safe coming home at night…”
Cowrie Creek, which sits on 45 hectares, was acquired years ago. The land at the time, residents said, was waterlogged, but had to be sand-filled before development began over 15 years ago.
The estate is a residential estate with one of the best infrastructure along the Lekki corridor. To make the project a reality, NLNG Cooperative invested in Grade A access road from Palm Spring Estate to the estate. This has brought a lot of development to the neighbourhood.