The Nation Newspaper

Tag: property owners

  • Demolition: Lagos, property owners agree on alternative solution

    Demolition: Lagos, property owners agree on alternative solution

    Lagos State Government has agreed to give property owners around Lekki County, Ikota GRA, Megamunds Estate, Ajiran, Agungi, Orchid, Oral II and environs, more time to come up with workable  options that will re-establish the drainage setbacks without demolition.

    Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, during a meeting with  property owners and residents in his office at Alausa, said the state is committed to re -establishing the drainage setbacks, which have been totally blocked or converted to access roads.

    He was supported by the Special Adviser to the governor on Environment, Kunle Rotimi-Akodu 

    Wahab said: “The government will be humane in its approach to reclaim the drainage right of way. We will give property owners and residents enough time to proffer solution to reclaiming of the setback in order to reduce the number of structures that will be affected.”

    The commissioner explained to the representatives from Megamunds Estate that the System 44A which cuts through Ikota GRA and Megamunds is a 19.5 meters (width) channel, but has been blocked by Ikota GRA and Lekki County property owners and residents.

    He said the government is determined to find a realistic solution to flooding in the areas and so the 31metres drainage alignment would be re-established and 6metres setback on both sides would be recovered.

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    Wahab said all property owners whose fences fall within the drainage setback will be served mandatory contravention notices as the law demands, while enforcement will be the last option.

    He added: “As regards this alignment; we will serve notices as required by law and re-establish the one for System 44; no one would tell the state that the canal did not exist before constructions started. 

    “I will like to let you know that a layout can be approved based on what developers provide, but if the layout does not reflect the natural alignment, then I can’t blame the Ministry of Physical Planning, but the developers that failed to get their drainage clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources. “

    Wahab told the stakeholders from Ajiran and Agungi drainage channel that the government is committed to re -establishing the drainage setback which has now been converted to an access road into their homes. This, he lamented, made it difficult to access the canal for cleaning. 

    He reminded them of an earlier agreement that property owners would own the drainage channel and maintain it permanently. The commissioner added that letters would be served on residents next week to know when the agreement will be signed. 

    During his meeting with property owners on Orchid and Oral II Estate on the corridor of System 156 and 157 Channel, along Ikota River, the commissioner affirmed that both channels have been totally blocked by illegal structures without drainage approvals. He recalled that property owners whose buildings and fences fall within the approved seven meters setback on both sides of the channel were earlier served seven-day contravention notices which had since expired.

    Affected property owners pleaded with the commissioner to temper justice with mercy and grant allow then come up with possible solutions to salvage the situation.

    The commissioner thereafter urged developers and builders to always seek drainage approvals before commencing any building project.

  • Lagos pays N11.8b compensation to property owners

    Lagos State Government yesterday said it has commenced payment of over N11.8billion as compensation to owners of properties demolished to give way for construction of roads, flyovers, ramps and other critical infrastructural projects across the State.

    Special Adviser to the Governor on Lands Bureau, Mrs. Yetunde Onabule who said this at the ongoing briefings by ministries said the payment was for properties demolished for projects including the Abule-Egba road expansion, Epe Road expansion, Lekki International Airport, Pen Cinema flyover, ultra- modern bus terminal in Oyingbo and upgrading of Muritala Mohammed International Airport Road.

    She listed other projects to include Mechanic Village, Gbagada Phase1, Ojokoro Specialist Hospital, construction of Freedom Road/Drainage channel, reconstruction of Agri-Ishawo Konu-Arepo Road, among others.

    Onabule said following the approval of the projects, the State’s Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development moved to these areas to determine the Right of Way (ROW) for the proposed projects, while the Lands Bureau carried out a reconnaissance survey and detailed enumeration of about 1,880 properties and claimants affected by the development including residential, commercial, petrol filling stations and religious centres.

    “I can confirm to you that in line with the provisions of the Land Use Act 1978, which is the enabling law for the revocation of Right of Occupancy (C of O) and payment of compensation thereof in the country, interest in the affected properties have been promptly revoked and enumeration of these properties completed and payment of over N11,814,844 billion approved as compensation for property owners on the Alignment/Right of Way for construction, re-construction/dualisation of roads, flyovers and ramps aimed at alleviating traffic gridlock and other forms of infrastructural development of Lagos is ongoing,” she said.

    The Special Adviser added that it recorded about N10.2 billion drop from its annual revenue generated from land transactions in 2017.

    She explained that the state’s Lands Bureau generated only N10.5billion from land transactions last year, representing over 50 percent short of the N20.7billion it generated in 2016.

    Onabule blamed the sharp reduction in the revenue on the inability of the Bureau to commence the sales of new scheme, adding that revenue generation would improve when the sale of the new land schemes begin.

    According to her, the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration has so far lived up to expectation in prompt payment of compensation on acquired land and titles revoked for over-riding public interest, however adding that payment is done after due presentation of all necessary documents by a claimant proving true ownership of the property.

    She urged affected residents to speed up their verification processes and forward their documents evidencing ownership of properties, valid means of identification, four passport photographs and other details to facilitate prompt payment.

    Onabule said that the quest by the present administration to ensure that Lagosians obtain title documents with ease, the Governor signed a total of 727 Electronic Certificate of Occupancy (E-C of O) in the year under review, thus bringing the number to 5, 172 of such certificates in the last three years.

    Onabule expressed concern on the issue of encroachment on government schemes, warning the Omo-Onile to desist from selling land that falls under government acquisition.

    “It is most disheartening to say that a very large number of government schemes in the state are being confronted with the problem of encroachment. We as a government have persistently advised members of the public to ensure they do proper charting and verification on properties before consummating transactions on land,” she said.

  • ‘Why Nigerian property owners in UK are at risk’

    ‘Why Nigerian property owners in UK are at risk’

    A partner at Charles Anthony LLP, an international law, business crime and asset recovery firm in Lagos, Jonathan Akinsanya, practices as a senior criminal defence barrister in London. He has over 20 years experience at the England & Wales’ Bar. In this article, he writes that following recent changes to United Kingdom’s law, Nigerians risk losing their assets.

    Last year, the Federal Republic of Nigeria implemented an opportunity for all tax payers to regularise their tax status. The concern was that Nigeria’s low tax revenues are at variance with the lifestyle of a large number of its people and their worldwide assets. In light of these factors Nigeria signed up for the establishment of the Beneficial Ownership Register at the Anti-Corruption Summit in London in 2016.

    On the 3rd February 2018 the Minister of Finance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Hon. Mrs Kemi Adeosun advised Nigerians with property in the United Kingdom (UK) to take advantage of Nigeria’s Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) in order to escape ‘the hammer of the UK’s new Unexplained Wealth Orders’.

    Proceeds of crime have been a problematic issue all over the world for many years. The UK has been at the forefront of establishing legal frameworks in an attempt to deal with it. However, despite the UK government’s attempts to plug the holes, it was considered that critical gaps remained in the legal framework that enabled those, be it individuals or companies, with corrupt intent were taking advantage. A taskforce of professionals in the area of asset recovery identified that the current asset recovery regime has a number of deficiencies, namely:

    ‘The levels of asset recovery are relatively low.

    The law enforcement agencies are given Inadequate time to investigate suspicious transactions – currently the investigators have 31 days to investigate and build sufficient evidence to act on suspicious transactions

    Law enforcement agencies are under resourced.

    The current legal framework for asset recovery is reliant on a conviction in the origin country’

    In order to remedy the aforementioned gaps in the legislation the UK Government has relatively recently introduced Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWO).

     

    So what is a UWO?

    It is a measure inserted into the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (hereinafter “POCA”) by Part 1 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017. The new section 362A POCA now gives any law enforcement agency the power to make an application to a High Court judge for a UWO and such an application may be made Ex-parte, i.e. without notice. Any application made under this provision must contain various details including naming the relevant property and who is said to own it.

    Before a High Court judge makes a UWO he must be satisfied that there is reasonable cause to believe that the respondent in the said case holds the property, and that the value of the property is greater than £50,000.

    In addition, a High Court judge must be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the known sources of the respondent’s lawfully obtained income would have been insufficient for the purposes of enabling him to obtain the property with is the subject of the UWO.

    The Act sets out what criteria can constitute “reasonable grounds” for the High Court and this includes “known sources of the respondent’s income are the sources of income that are reasonably ascertainable from information at the time of the making of the application for the order”. Income is lawfully obtained if it is obtained lawfully under the laws of the country from where the income arises”.

    The specified person (hereinafter “the respondent”) must be a politically exposed person, or there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the respondent is, or has been, involved in serious crime (whether in the UK or elsewhere) or a person connected with the respondent is, or has been so involved. The Act defines a politically exposed person. What is this definition?

    What is the Practical effect of a UWO?

    The practical effect of a UWO is that, once the order is made the respondent is required to provide to the court an explanation of how he/she obtained the property which is the subject of the UWO.

     

    What is the Effect of

    non-compliance with UWO

    If the respondent fails to comply with the requirements of the UWO without reasonable excuse before the end of the response period set by the court, the presumption is that the property is recoverable (forfeited) for the purposes of any proceedings taken in respect of the property unless the contrary is shown – the presumption only applies in relation to the property:

    Relating to the respondent’s interest in the property, and

    Only if the value of that interest is greater than £50,000

     

    Does the UWO carry

    criminal liability?

    The Unexplained Wealth Order has no criminal liability attached to it, save where there are false or misleading statements made in the purported compliance with a requirement imposed by the UWO.

    It is an entirely civil measure which allows the law enforcement agencies to recover and/or restrain (forfeit) the property without resorting to criminal procedures and/or sanctions. Its use is limited to perceived illicit assets owned by government officials (including family members or close associates) or those with links to serious crime –serious crime includes money laundering, bribery and corruption, fraudulent evasion of income tax. Another important feature is that it shifts the burden of proof onto the respondent to demonstrate the legitimacy of the funds used to acquire the property, the subject matter of the UWO.

    It is clear that we have entered a new dawn in Nigeria – the Federal Ministry of Finance is gathering information on individuals (and companies) through international asset tracing professionals and where there is evidence of politically exposed persons or a Nigerian is involved in serious crime e.g. tax evasion, money laundering who have acquired property in the UK then a complaint can be made to a law enforcement agency in the UK who will proceed to apply for a UWO from the High Court. The days of being able to hide assets in the UK appear to be over!

     

     

     

  • Compensation coming for property owners, says govt

    THE Lagos State Government will soon compensate those whose properties were destroyed   for the construction of the Pen Cinema Flyover, Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development Abiola Anifowoshe said yesterday.

    Anifowoshe debunked  reports that the government was delaying compensation.

    He said when the bridge was completed, it would decongest traffic in the axis and enhance the socio-economic development of Agege and environs.

    Anifowoshe said the government had held a stakeholders’ meeting with the property owners and presented them with the details of the project.

    He said: “It was instructive that the stakeholders at the meeting welcomed the development and the  government secured their buy-in.

    “The government representatives at the meeting also urged the people to submit all relevant documents showing proof of ownership. Our officials served all the statutory notices and even gave more than enough time for the affected property owners to be aware of the removal.

    “Also, there were newspaper publications to that effect stating government’s intention and expectations from the people. As a matter of fact, many of such have been submitted to my office and the compensation process has commenced fully.”

    The commissioner said the government also  removed its staff buildings belonging to the Lagos State Development Property Corporation (LSDPC) to give way for the project.

    “I want to use this opportunity to appeal to all residents in Agege that the  government will compensate everyone involved. The government understands their plight and is working tirelessly to ensure that those affected are compensated,” he said.

    Anifowoshe urged the affected property owners who are yet to produce their planning documents such as Certified Registered Title Document of Properties within the said Right of Way, Approved Building Plan Permit for the affected structures and any other relevant documents as proof of ownership, to do so without delay.

    “We like to urge them to submit their documents to the Office of the  Commissioner, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Block 15, The Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, so as to ensure that all affected owners are compensated appropriately.

     

  • Ajimobi assures property owners of compensation

    Ajimobi assures property owners of compensation

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has assured residents, whose property will be demolished as a result of road construction and expansion across the state, that they will be adequately compensated.
    The governor gave the assurance yesterday in Ibadan, in an address to traders and residents on Beere, Orita-Merin, Agbeni-Ogunpa Road, which he said would be expanded to ease perennial traffic congestion in the area.
    The latest project is in addition to the ongoing dualisation of Idi-Ape-Akobo-Odogbo Barracks Road; dualisation of Agodi-Gate-Old Ife-Adegbayi Road, with spur to Alakia-Ibadan Airport; as well as dualisation of Saki township road, in Oke Ogun.
    The government had also recently approved the reconstruction of 10-km Eleyele-Akufo; rehabilitation of Akufo junction-Eruwa Road; and expansion of Oke-Adu-Agodi-Gate-Idi-Ape- Iwo Road interchange.
    These projects are being financed through the Federal Government’s infrastructure development loan, internally-generated revenue sources and contractor funding.
    Ajimobi said: “We must consider the interest of the majority who will benefit from the project. I can only appeal to our people to consider the loss of their property as a sacrifice. But, I want to say again that they will be compensated.
    “Count the number of people that will gain from this project as skilled and unskilled workers, much less of road users who will have smooth passage after the road has been completed.”