Oniru estate: Two-month blockade leaves Lagos residents stranded

August 18, 2026 12:45 am

Residents of Otassona Estate, in the Oniru area of Lagos State, have been trapped in their homes for nearly two months following an alleged takeover of the estate by a property management company.

The residents, who spoke to PUNCH Metro on Sunday, lamented restricted access to their homes and expressed concerns that the continued closure of the estate’s gates could prevent emergency services from gaining access when needed.

They alleged that more than 25 armed men, accompanied by court bailiffs, stormed the estate on Monday, June 22, sealed its gates and pasted notices on houses, claiming that possession of the estate had been granted to their principal by a court.

The development, according to the residents, has caused hardship for families with children and elderly people, with some residents unable to freely use their vehicles or receive emergency assistance because the gates remain locked.

A resident, who identified herself simply as Mimi, told our correspondent that she was at work when she received a call informing her that the estate had been taken over.

She said, “On the 22nd of June, I was at work, and I got a call informing me that the estate had been besieged by several individuals, over 25 of them, who were armed.

“They had taken over the estate, claiming that they had a court order granting them possession of the estate. They sealed the premises, locked the gates from the inside and outside with padlocks and chains, so there was no going out or coming in.”

Mimi said the men also spray-painted the gates, houses and fences and pasted notices on residents’ doors.

She said she later returned to the estate but had to insist on being allowed in because her children were inside.

“On getting home that evening, they had even tried to prevent me from entering the estate. I had to insist and say that I am a resident and that I live here. I needed to get in because my children were in there,” she said.

Another resident, Aderonke Adeniji, said residents were subsequently informed that their properties had been taken over and were asked to pay money to remain in the estate.

She said residents met representatives of the parties claiming ownership of the property and were told that the land, measuring about 2,800 square metres, was worth about N4bn.

Adeniji said, “They came up with this document that states that the principal now owns this property and everything that is in it.

“They requested some money, I think about N4.5m, and we said we couldn’t come up with it. We needed to meet with other people. There was back and forth and a lot of negotiation.”

She said the residents eventually offered N1m but were later asked to meet with the alleged new owner.

According to her, residents were instructed to surrender their phones and other gadgets before the meeting commenced.

She said, “He told us that we had to pay some kind of money, that this land is about 2,800 square metres, and worth about N4bn. He came up with so many figures, and we’ve been struggling since that time.”

Adeniji said there were eight property owners in the estate and that they all had deeds of assignment and Governor’s Consent for their properties.

She added that after the residents failed to reach an agreement over the payment demanded, the alleged new owner threatened to build a wall in front of the estate.

“A wall was subsequently erected at the entrance but was later demolished after Lagos State authorities were notified of the development.

“He now came and built a wall in front. So, since Lagos State was already notified, its officials came and saw the illegal wall, asked for demolition and then they brought it down,” she added.

A broadcast journalist and resident of the estate, Ireti Bakare-Yusuf, said the residents were not parties to the original court case which allegedly led to the takeover.

She said the case was instituted against Otassona Gardens Limited, which she described as the development company behind the estate, and not Otassona Estate or its residents.

Bakare-Yusuf said, “There is this substantive case, which is the case of possession, which, by the way, wasn’t Otassona Estate that was taken to court. It was Otassona Gardens Limited, who were the developers, that was taken to court.

“We do not know them. They are on the Corporate Affairs Commission register, but we believe they no longer exist, because you can go and check them on CAC. Otassona Gardens Limited was taken to court in 2019. That’s the development company. Clearly, they don’t exist.

“At no given time was this estate informed or aware that there was such a case in court. Again, we are not Otassona Gardens Development Company. We are Otassona Estate, an estate of eight families, eight houses.”

She maintained that the residents did not owe the party claiming possession of the estate any money.

She said, “The overarching point here is, we, the residents of this estate, owe him nothing. We owe him absolutely nothing. He will not be getting a penny from us.”

Meanwhile, the residents said the prolonged restriction had caused severe hardship, with some unable to use their vehicles and others forced to walk through water to reach the estate gates.

One of the residents, who did not want her name published, said the situation became particularly frightening when her four-month-old baby developed a high temperature in the middle of the night.

She said, “We have a four-month-old baby, and we had a night when, around 1am or 2am, he was crying continuously and running quite a high temperature. It was quite a fright.

“We eventually resolved to dress up to take him to the hospital. But on dressing up and heading downstairs, we recalled that the car was parked four blocks away.”

The resident said the family had borrowed another vehicle because their car was locked inside the estate, but the borrowed vehicle was parked several blocks away and the car park closed at about 11.30pm.

She added, “So, there was no car, no Uber, nothing. Thankfully, about an hour later, we were able to get the baby to sleep before we then visited the hospital a few hours in the morning.

“So, it was very traumatic. And of course, other issues are centred around even our cars. Just a few days ago, we found out that our batteries had run down and check-engine signs had come up because the cars were just parked there.”

Another resident, Enarime Mueller, said children and elderly residents had been forced to wade through water to get out of the estate, particularly when schools were still in session.

She said, “To get to school, you have to wade through the water before you get to the gates. So, they can’t just jump into the car. They have to walk through the estate, wade through the water, tie up their shoes in a nylon bag and then put them on their backs.

“We can’t get water tankers into the estate because the gate is locked. So, in the event of an emergency, if we need water or there is a fire, the fire truck or emergency services can’t get into the estate because the gate is locked.”

Mueller also alleged that the estate sign was removed and a tipper-load of sand was dumped in front of the estate after the wall was demolished.

She described the developments as “subtle intimidation tactics” and said residents had been subjected to significant inconvenience.

She said, “You are going to work in the morning, all dressed up. You have to come and wade through water to get to your car. We can’t park, we can’t take our cars out.”

Another resident, Cornelia Lewis, who said she had difficulty walking, lamented the impact of the blockade on her movement.

She said, “I can’t go to my office. I can’t just go out. I had to trek to the gate with my bad legs. I have bad legs. God has to help me. But walking down to the gate, it’s terrible. I don’t like it. I don’t like it. It’s not good at all.”

An elderly resident, Kudirat Fashola, also described the development as a terrible ordeal, saying the situation had affected her plans to receive family members.

She said, “It has been a terrible ordeal. I have metal in both my legs. It is embarrassing to see all these signs all over the place.

“We were not expecting that opening the gate would become such a big deal. We are not really powerful. We believe we don’t have any case, but we have to now believe that there is a big problem when just opening the gate has become a terrible thing.”

Fashola said she eventually had to make alternative arrangements to receive and accommodate her guests because of the restrictions.

The residents called for urgent intervention to restore unrestricted access to the estate, particularly to prevent further hardship and ensure that emergency services could reach them when needed.

Efforts to reach the party claiming ownership of the estate were unsuccessful.

However, a phone number on the notices pasted on the residents’ doors was called by our correspondent on Monday.

The recipient of the call promised to send a statement in response to the allegations, but the statement had yet to be received as of the time of filing this report.

Dayo Oyewo

Dayo is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over nine years of experience covering politics, entertainment, crime, and environmental conservation. His reporting blends advocacy and accountability journalism, focusing on stories that inspire awareness and social change. Dayo’s work reflects practical newsroom experience and a strong commitment to public-interest reporting.

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